Oregon Takes Steps to Ensure Stations Meet UST Requirements

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SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has begun the final phase of ensuring that owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs) have the financial means necessary to respond quickly when spills, releases or accidents occur at a UST site.

When petroleum contamination is not cleaned up quickly due to lack of finances, pollution can spread to contaminate groundwater resources. Of the nearly 2,000 UST facilities operating in Oregon, primarily gas stations, about 50 facilities have failed to show they have the financial [image-nocss] means to pay the costs associated with leaking USTs.

Both state and federal regulations require that UST owners and operators comply with financial responsibility requirements by carrying pollution liability insurance or another financial mechanism. The financial responsibility requirements are designed to make sure that someone can pay the costs of cleaning up leaks and compensating third-parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by leaking tanks and systems. Financial responsibility also safeguards businesses by protecting their assets, since insurance will pay most of the liability and cleanup costs.

Leaking tanks in Oregon have contaminated municipal, domestic and irrigation wells, as well as groundwater resources, DEQ said. There have been 6,856 petroleum releases reported from regulated UST facilities in Oregon since the Tanks Program began in 1988. Current safeguards greatly reduce leaks and spills, but do not eliminate them, it said.

Oregonians have spent $5.7 million in state funds to cleanup up petroleum contamination from USTs when the owner could not or would not do so, said DEQ. The regulation requiring insurance or other means should prevent taxpayers from picking up the tab to clean up petroleum spills and leaks.

While there are many ways station owners can meet the financial responsibility requirements, the most common is through an environmental liability insurance policy for USTs. Insurance coverage averages about $500 per tank per year.

In addition to the financial responsibility, owners must meet a number of requirements to maintain their operating certificate, including spill prevention and overfill prevention equipment; leak detection systems for tanks and piping; and corrosion protection for the underground system. Facilities generally must show compliance with these standards to obtain an insurance policy. Owners who fail to obtain insurance will no longer be able to operate in Oregon, DEQ said.

This action will only affect businesses who refuse to purchase insurance or who do not have the financial means to buy insurance, it said. Those affected have already received at least three letters and at least two phone calls to notify them of the need to comply with the regulations. Warning letters were sent to affected businesses on November 15. If necessary, they will be followed by a pre-enforcement notice, and then a legal order to obtain financial mechanism or stop dispensing fuel.

If a business does not acquire a financial responsibility mechanism, DEQ will revoke its operating certificate. The facility will be prohibited from dispensing gas and will need to demonstrate that the tanks are empty. DEQ will work with facilities to advise them on how to decommission their tanks or help them understand the type of documentation that is necessary to demonstrate that they have adequate financial responsibility, so their operating certificate can be reinstated.

DEQ has the following schedule for the process:

Completion of this process will result in better protection for the environment.

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