Underground Storage Tanks
Why all the fuss about USTs?
Underground storage tanks or "USTs" represent one of the most
common environmental issues facing business and industry today. A leak or discharge from
even a small tank can cause severe soil and ground water contamination problems for the
property owner, an obligation to report the discharge to your state environmental
regulatory agency, and a cleanup liability that can run into many thousands of dollars.
Federal and state government agencies have mandated the closure,
replacement, upgrading, and management of more than one million USTs. It is imperative
that owners and operators of USTs assess both their future requirements for product
storage capacity and their ability to comply with technical regulations for site
assessment and cleanup.
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UST Regulations
Tank closure is not as simple as just "yanking" the tank out
of the ground. The procedure must comply with state and local requirements covering
everything from the preparation of a tank closure plan to assessing the impact of product
discharges on soil and water quality. Since 1986, laws regulating the installation and
removal of USTs have helped to ensure a safer subsurface environment:
- New tanks must meet specifications for leak detection, spill prevention, and corrosion
protection
- Tank contractors and environmental consultants must be certified
- Regulated tanks must be registered with the appropriate regulatory agency.
- Tank removal and installation activities are supervised by state regulatory agencies
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Federal Upgrade Requirements
In light of improved technology and better materials, all regulated
tanks were to be upgraded to new standards by December 1998, as mandated by the
USEPA.
All federally and state regulated tanks that continue in use must
achieve compliance with release detection, corrosion protection, spill prevention, and
overfill prevention requirements.
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Tank Installation
In many instances, the installation of aboveground or underground
storage tank systems that incorporate state of the art leak detection and spill prevention
devices require engineering design and construction skills to compliment expertise in
regulatory compliance. At Whitman, our Civil Engineers and our environmental
specialists work as a team so that we can handle all of your storage tank needs as one
integrated turnkey project, incorporating tank closure, environmental investigation,
regulatory compliance and the installation of new tank systems.
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The Whitman Companies,
Inc…At Your Service
Whitman can assist you with removing or installing your underground
storage tank(s). We are certified to conduct subsurface evaluations (soil and ground
water) and have done so in connection with hundreds of UST removals. However, our
experience goes way beyond simple tank removal and includes technical assessments
associated with leaking underground storage tanks in the following areas of scientific
analysis:
- Plume dating – determining when a tank leak first occurred; necessary to
support insurance claims and disputes between former owners of UST storage facilities
- Natural resource damage assessment – determining the impact of UST
discharges on ground water, wetlands, and surface water bodies
- Fate and transport – assessing the hazards to water users and other
receptors from ground water contamination plumes
- RBCA (risk based corrective action) – developing cost-effective remediation
approaches based on risk and damage assessments
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Contact Todd Gerber to discuss UST removal,
installation, or upgrade requirements for your underground tanks. Contact us to learn more
about how our expertise can be at your service in dealing with the technical issues that
may arise in the aftermath of a significant UST discharge.
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Why all the fuss about
USTs?
UST Regulations
Federal Upgrade Requirement
Tank Installation
The Whitman Companies,
Inc…At Your Service
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