WASHINGTON -- It will cost $12 billion in public funds to clean up half of the confirmed leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs), estimated a just-released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Leaking Underground Storage Tanks: EPA Should Take Steps to Better Ensure the Effective Use of Public Funding for Cleanups.
The reportconducted at the request of Representative John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, and Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.), vice chair of the Subcommittee on Environment & [image-nocss] Hazardous Materialsalso found that untimely cleanup increases the potential for contamination to spread and damage the environment and human health.
According to the GAO, "States reported that cleaning up known releases from leaking [USTs] would cost an estimated $12 billion in public funds from state and federal sources. This estimate reflects the amount of public funds that states expected it would cost to clean up approximately 54,000 known releases. States were unable to estimate the cost of cleaning up more than another 8,000 releases whose cleanup will require at least some public funds."
The GAO said 43 states expect to confirm about 16,700 new releases in the next five years that will require at least some public funds for cleanup.
"This report shows the gross inadequacy and disgraceful nature of President Bush's most recent budget request of $72.4 million from the federal Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund," said Dingell. "The inexplicable failure to use available resources to speed the cleanup of pollution that is likely to spread places human health and the environment at an increased risk."
In 1986, the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund was established for the specific purpose of cleaning up petroleum and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination of drinking water supplies. Every American pays into the fund (one-tenth of a cent per gallon) when they buy gasoline. The fund had a surplus of $2.57 billion in 2006 that is expected to grow to $3 billion at the end of fiscal 2008. The tax on gasoline brought in $197 million in 2006 and an additional $99 million was collected in interest on the amounts in the fund. The President only requested $72.4 million in his 2008 budget for cleanup, which is approximately 2.82% of the total amount in the fund, said Dingell.
"This report shows clearly that the leaking [USTs] are not getting cleaned up. As a result, leaking [USTs] like the 12,000 in California are contaminating our water supplies with MTBE and other carcinogens, unnecessarily risking public health," said Solis. "Taxpayers deserve to know that their tax dollars are being used appropriately, not being held in escrow by the Bush Administration to offset other misguided fiscal choices. It is time that our nation's water quality and health become a national priority."
GAO also found that:
State financial assurance funds in some states do not have sufficient resources to ensure timely cleanups. In the event of a release, tank owners covered by state financial assurance funds usually pay a relatively small deductible, while the funds provide sometimes large sums of public funding to complete the required cleanup. Because these deductibles are small, they may not provide an incentive for tank owners to prevent releases from occurring. EPA lacks assurance that states are adequately overseeing and enforcing financial responsibility provisions. GAO found that only about one-third of states check coverage on an annual basis, while the remaining states generally reported they check less frequently or not at all.... If the required coverage is not in place when a release occurs, funds may not be available to pay for cleanup in a timely manner, thus increasing the potential for contamination to spread and damage the environment and human health. Additionally, a lack of available funds may result in taxpayers paying more of the cleanup costs than they would have otherwise paid.Click here to view a copy of the GAO report.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.