PHOENIX -- Owners of old underground storage tanks (UST) in Arizona can now get them removed for free as part of a new program from the state Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
According to a recent ADEQ analysis, most reported gasoline and diesel releases into soil or groundwater are from USTs installed more than 20 years ago. The average age of a UST in Arizona is 22 years, and the state has more than 1,000 tanks that are 30 years or older.
To remove these potentially leaking tanks as fast as possible, the ADEQ has launched the UST State Lead Noncorrective Action Program, which coordinates the free removal of old USTs, as well as soil sampling near the removed tanks and developing a baseline assessment of the property.
“This new program will allow ADEQ to mitigate potential future public health impacts from gas and diesel contamination,” said Laura Malone, waste programs division director at the ADEQ. “In addition, these tank removals have a great potential to increase the market value of the properties from which the tanks are being removed.”
To qualify, participants must own the property where the UST is located, or have owned or operated the UST in the past. ADEQ will prioritize UST removal based on the environmental risk and the applicant’s financial resources.
ADEQ removed the first UST as part of the program on a property owned by C.T. Price Contracting Inc., a Glendale, Ariz.-based concrete and asphalt paving business. President Clark Price said, “The UST removal was so appreciated and does really make a difference for a small business owner.”
For more information about the program, click here.
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