Underground Storage Tanks Overview

When Region 6 EPA inspectors checked almost 1,000 of the more than 138,000 underground storage tanks being used in the five states that comprise Region 6 last year, only 40 percent of the retail facilities and about a third of the non-retail facilities inspected were in compliance. The December 22, 1998, deadline allowed ten years to get tanks in compliance.

Regulations require overfill/spill prevention devices, leak detection systems and corrosion protection. They are designed to protect the only source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. The regulations apply to buried tanks, mainly those used for gasoline and other petroleum products at service stations and fleet refueling facilities. Some are used to store hazardous chemicals, normally at industrial sites. Tanks installed after the regulations were adopted in December 1988 are required to meet the new standards.

EPA and state environmental agencies have worked vigorously to educate owners/operators and to provide help in complying with the law. While many underground storage tanks have been upgraded, replaced or properly closed, EPA and state agencies perform inspections to ensure all tanks meet the standards.

• New Mexico's Underground Storage Tank Program - (505) 827-2835

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