October 2006 - Environmental Protection Agency finalizes UST prohibition guidelines

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Environmental Protection Agency finalizes UST prohibition guidelines

In August, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final delivery prohibition
grant guidelines as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The guidelines describe the procedures that states must use in prohibiting fuel delivery to “ineligible” underground storage tanks. The guidance requires that a state must classify USTs as ineligible for delivery, deposit or acceptance of product if:

Required spill prevention equipment is not installed;
Required overfill protection equipment is not installed;
Required leak detection equipment is not installed;
Required corrosion protection equipment is not installed; or
Other conditions a state deems appropriate are evident.

The guidelines also say that a state should classify a UST ineligible if the owner/operator of the tank has been issued a written warning or citation under any of the following circumstances and the owner/operator has failed to take corrective action after a reasonable time frame that is determined by the state:

Failure to properly operate and/or maintain leak detection equipment;
Failure to properly operate and/or maintain spill, overfill or corrosion protection equipment;
Failure to maintain financial responsibility;
Failure to protect a buried metal flex connector from corrosion; or
Other conditions a state deems appropriate exist.

States are able to implement these guidelines by:

Having the authority to prohibit delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product to an underground storage tank for both equipment and operational violations; and
Developing processes and procedures for a delivery prohibition program that, at a minimum, meet the requirements in these guidelines.

The state’s delivery prohibition program must meet these guidelines by Aug. 8, 2007. States may choose to be more stringent than the minimum requirements in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The state must clearly communicate to underground storage tank owners and operators and product deliverers the state’s:

Criteria for determining which underground storage tanks are ineligible for delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product;
Mechanism(s) for identifying ineligible underground storage tanks;
Process for reclassifying ineligible underground storage tanks as eligible for delivery, deposit or acceptance of product;
Process(es) for providing adequate notice to underground storage tank owners and operators and product deliverers that an underground storage tank has been determined to be ineligible for delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product; and
Delineation of a process for the application of delivery prohibition in rural and remote areas.

The EPA recognizes that states with existing delivery prohibition programs may already have communicated these requirements to tank owners and operators and product deliverers. States that have already communicated their requirements to tank owners and operators and product deliverers are not required to communicate their requirements any further. However, states must adequately communicate any changes to their existing delivery prohibition program.

Tank owners/operators and product deliverers are responsible for ensuring that product is not delivered, deposited or accepted into an underground storage tank identified as ineligible to receive product. Therefore, a state must use a clear, concise mechanism or mechanisms for identifying ineligible underground storage tanks. The mechanism(s) a state uses must adequately indicate to product deliverers and underground storage tank owners/operators that an underground storage tank is ineligible to receive product. For a state developing a mechanism or mechanisms to use to identify ineligible underground storage tanks, the state should consult with underground storage tank owners/operators and product delivery industries. A state should also consider the ease of reclassifying an underground storage tank as eligible when choosing the method(s) for identifying ineligible underground storage tanks.

Some examples of mechanisms for identifying ineligible underground storage tanks include:

Red tags attached to each fill pipe of the ineligible underground storage tank clearly identifying the tank as ineligible for delivery, deposit or acceptance of product;
Green tags attached to each fill pipe of the eligible underground storage tank clearly identifying the tank as eligible for delivery, deposit or acceptance of product; or,
A certificate conspicuously displayed at the facility clearly identifying the underground storage tank(s) at the facility as eligible for delivery, deposit or acceptance of product.

The full text of the EPA’s guidance can be found at www.pei.org/frd.

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