Summary of EPA Regulations for UST Installation, Operation, Maintenance

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for petroleum USTs are found in the United States Code of Federal Regulations:40 CFR Part 280, “Underground Storage Tanks; Technical Requirements” and 40 CFR Part 112, “Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Regulation.” This is a brief summary of pertinent federal regulations for petroleum USTs. The reader is referred to the United States Code of Federal Regulation for full details.

Petroleum UST systems: design, construction, installation and notification (Subpart B).

Performance standards for new USTs installed after December 22, 1988 (40 CFR 280.20)

Tanks, piping, spill and overfill containment, installation, and certification of installation

Upgrade requirements for USTs installed before December 23, 1988 (40 CFR 280.21)

Alternatives allowed; tank upgrading requirements (interior lining, cathodic protection, and interior lining with cathodic protection); and piping upgrade requirements; spill and overfill prevention equipment requirements

Requirement of regulatory notification and registration for new or upgraded tank systems(40 CFR 280.22)

General operating requirements (Subpart C)

Spill and overfill control (40 CFR 280.30)

Operation and maintenance of corrosion protection (40 CFR 280.31)

Use of materials compatible with substance being stored requirement (40 CFR 280.32)

UST system repairs allowed (40 CFR 280.33) UST operation and maintenance reporting and record keeping requirements (40 CFR 280.34)

Reporting, record keeping, and availability and maintenance of records

Release detection requirements for petroleum UST systems (Subpart D)

General requirements (40 CFR 280.40)

Requirements for petroleum UST systems (40 CFR 280.41)

Tanks, piping (pressurized and suction)

Allowable methods of release detection for tanks (40 CFR 280.43)

Inventory control, manual tank gauging, tank tightness testing, automatic tank gauging, vapor monitoring, ground-water monitoring, and interstitial monitoring

Allowable methods of release detection for piping (40 CFR 280.44)

Automatic line leak detectors, line tightness testing, and applicable methods also used for tank release detection

Release detection recordkeeping (40 CFR 280.45)

Spill prevention, control and countermeasures requirements at petroleum UST sites when aggregate capacity of underground storage exceeds 42,000 gallons and there is a reasonable expectation that a release could impact navigable waters of the US. (40 CFR 112)

Facility operators may be subject to Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) TRI reporting if:

The facility has 10 or more full-time employees.
The facility's SIC code is 5171 (NAICS 422710).
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals.
The facility processed gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, or lubricating oil.
The facility exceeded the 25,000 lbs. threshold.

The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) forms and instructions are available on EPA's website at www.epa.gov/tri.

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