Underground Storage Tanks

There are several fundamental principles when it comes to selecting corrective action technologies. First, the primary objectives at any petroleum release site are to immediately stop the release and take steps to ensure that it does not recur, and to quickly recover to the maximum extent practicable any free product that was released into the subsurface. Second, OUST does not recognize the concept of a "presumptive" remedy. Selection of an appropriate corrective action technology is a site-specific decision, and there may be more than one technology that could be appropriate for a given site. Third, an appropriate technology is one that will be fully protective of human health and the environment, and will meet site remediation objectives within a reasonable time frame. Fourth, essential site-specific data can only be derived from a comprehensive site assessment.

OUST defines "Alternative Cleanup Technologies" as those which are alternatives to pump-and-treat (for groundwater) and excavation and disposal (for soil) which have been proven to be effective. Examples of alternative cleanup technologies include: soil vapor extraction (SVE), air sparging, biosparging, landfarming, biopiles, bioventing, low-temperature thermal desorption, in situ groundwater bioremediation, dual-phase extraction, monitored natural attenuation, enhanced aerobic bioremediation, and chemical oxidation.

Some of the newer technologies, which have not yet been demonstrated to be cost-effective for typical UST sites, are referred to as "innovative technologies". Examples of innovative technologies include: radio frequency heating, co-solvents, surfactants, and soil washing. Visit EPA's CLU-IN Web site for more information on innovative technologies .

NOTE: QA documents referred to in some of the following publications may be outdated.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.

EPA Remediation/Cleanup Information

• "How to Evaluate Alternative Cleanup Technologies for Underground Storage Tank Sites: A Guide for Corrective Action Plan Reviewers".
  This document provides detailed descriptions of the 12 alternative technologies listed below. The brief descriptions of each technology that are presented here are excerpts from this guidance document. Each description also has a link to the "Glossary of Technical Terms". NOTE the glossary has not been updated to reflect the addition of Chapters XII and XIII.
  1. Introduction
  2. Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE)
  3. Bioventing
  4. Biopiles
  5. Landfarming
  6. Low-Temperature Thermal Desorption
  7. Air Sparging
  8. Biosparging
  9. Monitored Natural Attenuation (PDF) (77 pp, 3.3MB, About PDF) (brief description not available; full detailed chapter is available)
  10. In Situ Groundwater Bioremediation
  11. Dual-Phase Extraction
  12. Enhanced Aerobic Bioremediation (PDF) (73 pp, 329K, About PDF) (brief description not available; full detailed chapter is available)
  13. Chemical Oxidation (PDF) (52 pp, 282K, About PDF) (brief description not available; full detailed chapter is available)
  14. Glossary of Technical Terms
• "Bibliography for Innovative Site Clean-Up Technologies" (PDF) (EPA 542-B-98-001) (16 pp, 224K, About PDF)
• Free Product Recovery (required by 40 CFR 280.64)
• "LUST Cleanup Landscape Changing: Landfilling Still In, Pump and Treat On The Way Out" (PDF) (3 pp, 107K, About PDF) (article by Paul Kostecki and Marc Nascarella published in Jan-Feb 2003 issue of Contaminated Soil Sediment & Groundwater
• Monitored Natural Attenuation (OSWER MNA workgroup, OSWER Directive 9200.4-17P, ORD Publications and Seminars, other links)
• Fenton's Reagent
  • In-situ Soil and Aquifer Decontamination using Hydrogen Peroxide and Fenton's Reagent
    http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/5336/report/0
  • EPA Innovative Technology Inventory--Terra Vac
    http://www.epa.gov/region01/assistance/ceit_iti/tech_cos/ter_oxy.html
• ORD Technical Reports
• Publications and Studio On The CLean Up INformation Web site (CLU-IN) (searchable list of publications hosted by the EPA Technology Innovation Office--TIO)

Technology Verification

• Capstone Report on the Application, Monitoring, and Performance of Permeable Reactive Barriers for Ground-Water Remediation: Volume 1 - Performance Evaluations at Two Sites (EPA/600/R-03/045a, August 2003. PDF document by sections.) (156 pp, 24.8MB, About PDF)
• Capstone Report on the Application, Monitoring, and Performance of Permeable Reactive Barriers for Ground-Water Remediation: Volume 2 - Long-Term Monitoring of PRBs: Soil and Ground Water Sampling (EPA/600/R-03/045b, August 2003. PDF document by sections.) (145 pp, 5.3MB, About PDF)
• EPA's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program
  • List of Verified Technologies
  • Schedule of Testing Events
  • ETV Publications and Documents
  • ETV List of Links
  • ETV Quality Management Plans
  • List of ETV Articles and Press Releases
  • Collaboration
• "Completed North American Innovative Technology Demonstration Project" (PDF) (64 pp, 734K, About PDF) (EPA 542-B-96-002) August 1996. Technology Innovation Office

Non-EPA Remediation/Cleanup Links

• U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
  • Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC)
  • Department of the Navy Environmental Programs
  • The Navy Environmental Leadership Program (NELP)
  • Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE)
  • National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence (NDCEE)
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Manuals.
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
  • U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management
  • Ames Laboratory's Environmental Technology Development Program
  • Characterization, Monitoring and Sensor Technology Crosscutting Program (CMST-CP)
• DOE National Laboratories
  • Ames Laboratory
  • Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Sandia National Laboratories
• Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organizations
• Summary of State Soil and Groundwater Action/Cleanup Levels (provided by the Association for the Environmental Health of Soils - AEHS)
• Contaminated Soil, Sediment, and Water (Journal of AEHS)

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