Underground Storage Tanks

Across the United States, local communities are grappling with what to do about abandoned, contaminated properties. Of the estimated 450,000 brownfields sites in the U.S., approximately one-half are thought to be impacted by underground storage tanks (USTs) or some type of petroleum contamination. EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) is responsible for promoting the cleanup of leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites. One key element of this is to work together with federal, state, and local organizations and private partners to foster the reuse and subsequent economic recovery of petroleum-contaminated sites. In 2002, Congress passed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act ("Brownfields Law"), with a key provision allocating 25 percent of funding each year to assess, cleanup, and ready for reuse petroleum brownfields sites. The links below provide additional information about petroleum brownfields.

Petroleum Brownfields Action Plan: Promoting Revitalization And Sustainability (PDF) (11 pp, 161K, About PDF)
Describes four strategic initiatives, each with specific actions and activities, to help EPA and interested stakeholders collaborate in returning abandoned, under-used petroleum brownfields sites to productive use.

Brownfields National Conference, May 5-7, 2008
Links to information regarding the national Brownfields conference.

EPA Grants For Petroleum Brownfields Properties
Provides lists of petroleum brownfields grant recipients by year.

EPA Brownfields And Land Revitalization
Provides basic information about EPA's Brownfields and land revitalization programs.

USTfields Initiative
Prior to the enactment of the 2002 Brownfields Law, petroleum-contaminated sites were not eligible for traditional brownfields funding. Therefore, in 2000, in order to encourage the reuse of abandoned properties contaminated with petroleum from underground storage tanks, OUST created the USTfields Initiative. A total of 50 sites were awarded up to $100,000 each to assess, clean up, and ready for reuse high-priority petroleum-impacted sites. Although no new USTfields pilots will be awarded beyond the 50 pilots, opportunities to address relatively low risk petroleum sites are now available through the Brownfields assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund grants. In addition, high priority/risk sites can be addressed by the state through the LUST Trust Fund.

For more information on USTfields Pilots and Petroleum Brownfields, contact Steven McNeely (703-603-7164).

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