Underground Storage Tanks

The following publications largely focus on managing USTs properly and conducting cleanups efficiently. The publications are listed alphabetically by title.

You can read these publications online or download them to print. Read important information about this list before you download any documents.

NOTE: QA documents referred to in some of the following publications may be outdated. Visit The EPA Quality System web site for the latest version of EPA's QA documents.

You can also order publications from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP), EPA's publication distributor, via telephone, U.S. mail, or the Internet. NSCEP's toll-free number is 800-490-9198; or you can fax your order to 301-604-3408. NSCEP's mailing address is: Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242. At this web site you can search for documents and place your order on-line.

• Automatic Tank Gauging Systems For Release Detection: Reference Manual For Underground Storage Tank Inspectors (EPA 510-B-00-009). August 2000.
  This manual can help State and EPA inspectors of underground storage tanks (USTs) evaluate how well UST owners and operators are using their automatic tank gauging (ATG) systems to comply with release detection requirements. Also, the manual provides handouts that UST inspectors can distribute to UST owners and operators to help them understand the proper operation and maintenance of their ATG systems. In its 140-pages, the manual contains a summary of specifications, based on third-party evaluations, for ATG systems that detect leaks from USTs and their piping. Each summary provides information on certified detectable leak rate/threshold, test period duration, product applicability, calibration requirements, restrictions on the use of the device, vendor contact information, printing and interpreting reports, sample reports, and so on.
• Catalog Of EPA Materials On Underground Storage Tanks (EPA-510-B-00-001). January 2000.
  This booklet provides an annotated list of UST materials and includes ordering information. Many of the informational leaflets, booklets, videos, and software items listed are designed to provide UST owners and operators with information to help them comply with the federal UST requirements. Please note the publication date of individual titles in the catalog - some information may be outdated.
• Closing Underground Storage Tanks: Brief Facts (EPA 510-F-96-004). July 1996.
  This 2-page, tri-fold flyer presents basic information about proper UST system closure.
• Developing A Third-Party Underground Storage Tank Inspection Program: A Guide To Assist States (EPA-510-K-08-001). September 2008.
  This 22-page guide provides states with information on how to develop third-party inspection programs or enhance their existing programs. The guide summarizes the inspection grant guidelines and outlines steps states should follow in developing their third-party inspection programs. The guide also includes examples of existing state programs.
• Doing Inventory Control Right For Underground Storage Tanks (EPA 510-B-93-004). November 1993.
  This 17-page booklet describes inventory control methods that can be used to help owners and operators of underground storage tank (UST) systems meet federal regulatory leak detection requirements. The booklet provides a step-by-step process for inventory control that is clear and easy to follow.
• Dollars And Sense (EPA 510-K-95-004). July 1995.
  This 16-page booklet provides a plain-English summary of UST owners' and operators' financial responsibilities under Federal UST regulations. Includes definition of financial responsibility - evidence of owners' and operators' ability to ensure, through insurance or other means, that they can pay for cleanups and third-party damages associated with a release.
• Estimating Air Emissions From Petroleum UST Cleanups
  This guidance document (June 1989) and companion field cards (September 1989) provide State regulators with a means of estimating air emission rates of VOCs and benzene at individual UST cleanup sites. This information may be used to develop policies regulating such air emissions.
• Expedited Site Assessment Tools For Underground Storage Tank Sites: A Guide For Regulators (EPA 510-B-97-001). March 1997.
  The expedited site assessment (ESA) process is a framework for rapidly characterizing UST site conditions for corrective action decisions. This concept has been described with other names including: accelerated site characterization, rapid site characterization, and expedited site investigation.
• Financial Responsibility For Underground Storage Tanks: A Reference Manual (EPA-510-B-00-003). January 2000.
  This detailed, comprehensive manual provides UST inspectors with the restrictions, limitations, and requirements of each financial responsibility mechanism provided in the federal UST regulations. Note that this "Reference Manual" is based on the federal UST financial responsibility requirements, though it should provide useful information and insight into understanding and reviewing state-specific financial responsibility mechanisms.
• Financing Underground Storage Tank Work: Federal And State Assistance Programs (EPA-510-B-99-002). March 1999.
  This 25-page booklet identifies potential sources of financial assistance to cover the costs of upgrading, replacing, or closing an UST, or of cleaning up an UST release.
• Frequency And Extent Of Dispenser Releases At Underground Storage Tank Facilities In South Carolina (EPA-510-R-04-004). September 2004
  This report presents the results of information collected and analyzed from underground storage tank (UST) closure and assessment reports at sites in South Carolina. EPA gathered and analyzed dispenser sampling data from South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control's UST assessment and closure files to determine the frequency and extent of releases from dispensers, and whether the data showed any patterns of dispenser releases. The primary audiences for this report are state and regional underground storage tank staff and managers interested in learning about the frequency and extent of dispenser releases. The 26-page report describes the background, purpose, methodology used, quality assurance and quality control procedures applied, results of the study, and conclusions. It also provides supporting information in the appendices.
• FY 2007 Annual Report On The Underground Storage Tank Program (EPA-510-R-08-001). April 2008.
  This 7-page report provides a snapshot of national underground storage tank program activities during fiscal year 2007. The report contains information regarding: tank program highlights in 2007; advances in preventing releases; progress in cleaning up leaks; efforts to enhance communication and information sharing; and a look ahead for next year and the future.
• Getting The Most Out Of Your Automatic Tank Gauging System (EPA-510-F-98-011). March 1998.
  This tri-fold leaflet provides UST owners and operators with a basic checklist they can use to make sure their automatic tank gauging systems work effectively. As a compliance assistance tool, the leaflet focuses on what actions the UST owner and operator must take to comply with leak detection requirements and prevent significant cleanup problems.
• How To Effectively Recover Free Product At Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites: A Guide For State Regulators (EPA 510-R-96-001). September 1996.
  This technical guidance document helps state regulators and cleanup contractors review those parts of an UST corrective action plan that propose free-product-recovery technologies.
• How To Evaluate Alternative Cleanup Technologies For Underground Storage Tank Sites: A Guide For Corrective Action Plan Reviewers (EPA 510-B-94-003; EPA 510-B-95-007; and EPA 510-R-04-002).
  The original manual covered 8 alternative technologies: soil vapor extraction (SVE), air sparging, biosparging, landfarming, biopiles, bioventing, low-temperature thermal desorption, and natural attenuation. In May 1995, two additional chapters (dual-phase extraction and in situ groundwater bioremediation) were added and the Introduction and Glossary were updated at the same time. In May 2004 the manual was again updated with the addition of two new chapters (enhanced aerobic bioremediation and chemical oxidation) and revision of the introductory chapter and the chapter on monitored natural attenuation. The revised document carries the same title but a new number - EPA 510-R-04-002.
• Introduction To Statistical Inventory Reconciliation For Underground Storage Tanks (EPA 510-B-95-009). September 1995.
  This 12-page booklet provides basic information on this leak detection method.
• Leveraging State Funds To Increase Compliance
  This 1994 bulletin explains methods that many states have found effective in increasing compliance and controlling cleanup costs.
• List Of Integrity Assessment Evaluations For UndergroundStorage Tanks - Third Edition January 22, 1999
  This 8-page EPA Memorandum (dated February 9, 1999) provides a list of integrity assessment procedures that have been successfully evaluated and certified by a qualified independent third party to meet specified performance criteria.
• List Of Known Insurance Providers For Underground Storage Tank Owners And Operators (EPA 510-B-08-002). April 2008.
  This booklet provides UST owners and operators with a list of insurance providers who may be able to help UST owners and operators comply with financial responsibility requirements by providing a suitable insurance mechanism. Note that this edition replaces all earlier editions bearing the same title.
• List Of Leak Detection Evaluations For UST Systems (PDF) (6 pp, 51K, About PDF)
  This "List" is not an OUST publication, but for several years this publication - developed by the National Work Group On Leak Detection Evaluations (NWGLDE) - was available on our Web site. However, there is a new home for this useful publication at the Web site maintained by NWGLDE. NWGLDE has worked on leak detection issues for several years and it has now launched its own Web site. Please visit this new Web site for a variety of leak detection related information, which includes the most recent list of leak detection methods that have been evaluated by third parties to see if they meet EPA's performance standards. Previously much of this information could be found on the OUST Web site, but now and in the future the NWGLDE Web site will be the place to go for the latest information on leak detection evaluations and related policy matters
• Manual Tank Gauging For Small Underground Storage Tanks. (EPA 510-B-93-005). November 1993.
  This 12-page booklet explains the Federal and state laws that require underground storage tanks (USTs) to be equipped with leak detection systems. Although much attention has been focused on large USTs, it is important that leaks from smaller tanks (generally less than 2,000 gallons of capacity) also have leak detection systems. This booklet provides simple, easy to follow, step-by-step directions for the correct way to conduct manual tank gauging for these smaller tanks.
• Model Underground Storage Tank Environmental Results Program Workbook (EPA-510-R-04-003). June 2004.
  This model workbook is a tool to help state underground storage tank (UST) programs and state funds improve owner and operator compliance with UST regulations. States may need to modify the model workbook to reflect their own state laws. States may then request or require tank owners and operators follow the final, state-specific environmental results program (ERP) workbook, which can help owners remain in or achieve compliance with UST requirements. The primary audience for the workbook is UST owners and operators who either volunteer or are required to use the workbook to determine whether or not their facilities comply with UST requirements. The 164-page workbook contains general information about ERP; instructions on how to use the workbook; regulatory requirements, best management practices, and compliance checklists for USTs; and draft forms and worksheets in the appendices.
• Musts For USTs: A Summary Of The Federal Regulations For Underground Storage Tank Systems (EPA 510-K-95-002).
  This 40-page booklet summarizes federal UST requirements for installation, release detection, spill, overfill, and corrosion protection, corrective action, closure, reporting and recordkeeping. Although parts of the booklet were written to prepare people for the 1998 deadline, the information contained in the booklet still applies today.
• Operating And Maintaining Underground Storage Tank Systems: Practical Help And Checklists (EPA-510-B-05-002). September 2005.
  This manual contains brief summaries of the federal UST requirements for operation and maintenance (O&M), as well as practical help that goes beyond the requirements. Checklists prompt the user to look closely at what kinds of equipment are in use and how to keep that equipment working properly over the lifetime of the UST system. The manual provides recordkeeping forms that also help the UST owner and operator keep equipment operating properly. Owners and operators of underground storage tank (UST) systems will find this manual contains checklists and information that will help them properly operate and maintain their USTs. State and EPA UST inspectors can use the manual and its checklists to help educate UST owners and operators and encourage their compliance with the UST requirements.
• Report To Congress On A Compliance Plan For The Underground Storage Tank Program (EPA-510-R-00-001). June 2000.
  Congress in its FY2000 Appropriations Committee Conference Report directed the U.S. EPA to prepare and submit to Congress a compliance plan regarding the underground storage tank (UST) program. EPA developed this 70-page report in response to that request. The report presents information and cost estimates necessary to: identify USTs that are not in compliance with Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; identify USTs in temporary closure; determine the ownership of USTs not in compliance or in temporary closure; determine the plans of owners and operators to bring USTs into compliance or out of temporary closure; and determine how USTs, for which no owner can be identified, will be brought into compliance or closed permanently.
• Report To Congress On Implementing And Enforcing The Underground Storage Tank Program In Indian Country (EPA 510-R-07-006). August 2007.
  Congress in Title XV, Section B of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed EPA to submit to Congress a report that summarizes the status of implementing and enforcing the underground storage tank program in Indian Country.  EPA developed this 38-page report in response to that request.  The report discusses the considerable progress EPA and tribes have made, working together, to prevent and cleanup releases from USTs in Indian Country.  The report provides:  background and an overview of the tank program; information on release prevention activities in Indian Country; information on cleaning up leaking UST sites in Indian Country; tribes' success stories in carrying out UST work; and a look at future UST activities for tribal partners and EPA to prevent and detect new releases, as well as increase the pace of cleanups for new and existing leaks.
• Reuse Of Abandoned Gas Station Sites (EPA-510-F-04-001). February 2004.
  This three-page information sheet briefly describes EPA's efforts to put to productive use the thousands of polluted, abandoned gas stations and other petroleum-contaminated sites that blight America's landscape.
• Standard Test Procedures for Evaluating Various Leak Detection Methods (EPA/530/UST-90/004 through EPA/530/UST-90/010). March 1990.
  EPA produced seven testing protocols that sophisticated, professional testers could use to demonstrate that an individual release detection equipment type could meet the performance requirements noted in the federal UST requirements for detecting leaks. These protocols are: Automatic Tank Gauging Systems; Liquid-Phase Out-of-Tank Product Detectors; Non-Volumetric Tank Tightness Testing Methods; Pipeline Leak Detection Systems; Statistical Inventory Reconciliation Methods; Vapor-Phase Out-of-Tank Product Detectors; and Volumetric Tank Tightness Testing Methods.
• State Funds In Transition: Models For Underground Storage Tank Assurance Funds (EPA 510-B-97-002). January 1997.
  This 40-page booklet is intended for state officials who are considering changes and alternatives to their state funds. The booklet presents case studies describing some of the activities that three states have conducted in making a transition from a state fund program to other financial assurance mechanisms. The booklet also describes five programs that might serve as models for states that have decided to change the structure of their state funds.
• Straight Talk On Tanks: Leak Detection Methods For Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks And Piping (EPA-510-B-05-001). September 2005.
  This booklet provides easy-to-understand descriptions of several leak detection methods for tanks and piping, as well as explanations of the regulatory requirements for leak detection. Leak detection methods include: secondary containment with interstitial monitoring, automatic tank gauging, vapor monitoring, groundwater monitoring, statistical inventory control, tank tightness testing with inventory control, and manual tank gauging.
• Survey Of Flexible Piping Systems (EPA 510-R-97-002). March 1997.
  This survey includes information on which companies are making various types of flexible pipe, the number of installers, piping construction, compatibility, materials warranty, and the status of various system in meeting national codes and standards.
• Underground Motor Fuel Storage Tanks: A National Survey (EPA 560/5-86-013). May 1986.
  A statistical study producing a national assessment of underground storage tanks systems with information on (1) the number of tanks, (2) the number of establishments with tanks, (3) the number of tank systems that failed a tightness test, and (4) factors associated with leaking. It is limited to motor fuels. (Conducted by EPA's Office of Toxic Substances.)
• Underground Storage Tanks: Building On The Past To Protect The Future (EPA 510-R-04-001). March 2004.
  This 26-page report describes how EPA, states, tribes, and industry have successfully worked together to close 1.5 million unsafe tanks, upgrade or replace nearly all other tanks, cleanup over 300,000 releases, and dramatically reduce the number of new releases from a high of over 66,000 in 1990 to roughly 12,000 in 2003. The report also looks to future challenges such as cleaning up 130,000 remaining known releases, reusing 200,000 abandoned gas stations and petroleum brownfields sites, and improving compliance at every site to prevent new releases.
• UST Program Facts
  The outdated publication "UST Program Facts..." (1996) is no longer available. However, the following Web pages from our site provide a program overview by briefly summarizing the UST program and some basic facts that are updated roughly every six months.
• UST Systems: Inspecting And Maintaining Sumps And Spill Buckets - Practical Help And Checklist (EPA 510-R-05-001). May 2005.
  This 16-page manual presents underground storage tank (UST) system owners and operators with recommended inspection guidelines and best management practices for their UST system sumps and spill buckets. The manual will: help owners identify and inspect the sumps and spill buckets associated with their UST systems; explain some simple steps owners can take to maintain their sumps and spill buckets and identify potential problems; and provide owners with tips for fixing common problems before they cause a release of petroleum products to the environment. The manual includes safety considerations; a general introduction to the kinds of sumps; basic maintenance procedures for sumps and spill buckets; and a sump and spill bucket inspection checklist.
• Underground Storage Tank Program Directory (EPA 510-B-07-001). July 2007.
  This brochure provides information about Washington and Regional EPA Contacts, State UST/LUST Program Contacts, and available UST publications.
• Underground Storage Tanks: Requirements And Options (EPA 510-F-97-005). June 1997.
  This leaflet is directed to nonmarketers of petroleum and provides you with a quick overview of your responsibilities and choices for complying with Federal UST regulations. The leaflet also provides a selected list of relevant publications and other sources of information about USTs.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUST PUBLICATIONS

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