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Underground storage tanks that leak hazardous substances can contaminate nearby groundwater and soil. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), tank owners and operators are primarily responsible for paying to clean up releases from their tanks. They can demonstrate their financial responsibility by using, among other options, publicly funded state financial assurance funds. Such funds function like insurance and are intended to ensure timely cleanup. These funds also pay to clean up releases from tanks without a viable owner, as does the federal Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund. GAO was asked to report on (1) states' estimates of the public costs to clean up known releases, (2) states' primary sources of cleanups funding and their viability, and (3) federal sources to address these releases. GAO surveyed all states and discussed key issues with EPA and selected state officials. www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-152. To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more information, contact John B. Stephenson at (202) 512-3841 or [email protected].
ABSTRACT: Cleanup of leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites has been a priority for the United States of America (USA) for more than 20 years due to the large number of sites, the potential harmful health affects associated with gasoline components and the fact that single owners may not have the ability to pay for cleanup of these sites. In June 2006, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that of the 459,637 confirmed releases from USTs that had occurred previously, 342,688 had been remediated, which leaves 116,949 sites yet to be completed across the USA. Petroleum cleanup programs tend to be managed at the State level; however, there are wide variations among State programs in terms of information access, risk perception and funding availability. While each of the Federal and State UST programs has evolved to meet specific requirements, there has not been a comprehensive comparison of the individual State programs. In this thesis, State petroleum cleanup programs across the USA are evaluated to determine similarities and differences in an effort to identify factors that affect petroleum cleanup progress. Many parameters enter the equation in determining petroleum cleanup effectiveness. Not only are the parameters of the State program operation important, but also the characteristics of each State, including drinking water source and perceived risk associated with petroleum contamination, factor into the determination. A representative group of States and State petroleum cleanup programs were evaluated and the characteristics of States were compared to cleanup progress to determine factors affecting efficiency. Based on trend analysis the cleanup levels for toluene, ethylbenzene and total xylenes correlate directly to the cost of LUST site cleanup. For States with less perceived risk from petroleum contamination, the cleanup goals are less stringent; therefore, fewer resources and less time are required to complete site cleanup. Consequently, petroleum cleanup in States with less-stringent goals is achieved more efficiently. The knowledge of these drivers of efficient petroleum cleanup can be used to expeditiously pursue completion of the thousands of sites remaining across the USA.
The primary purpose of the underground storage tank (UST) regulations is protection and clean up of groundwater resources used by millions of Americans as the source of their drinking water. Annual expenditures to clean up fuel releases from leaking UST systems are in excess of $1.5 billion, a significant portion of which is derived from public funds. Government programs have a responsibility to ensure that such funds are used effectively and efficiently for their intended purpose. One of the UST program's policy initiatives designed to promote more effective and efficient cleanups is risk-based corrective action (RBCA). RBCA differs from conventional cleanup decision making in that cleanup levels are established on a site-by-site basis according to the relative risk associated with contaminants at the site, the physical characteristics of the site, and the threat posed to potential receptors. Cleanup decisions based on actual risks posed, rather than uniform standards that are characteristic of conventional decision-making, were anticipated to result in an increase in the number of completed cleanups and a decrease in the average cost per cleanup. Though RBCA was first launched in 1995, the impact of RBCA has not been systematically evaluated. This dissertation evaluates whether RBCA has been effective in meeting expectations, and whether these expectations have been met in a cost-efficient manner. With regard to the question of effectiveness, evidence suggests that some states have experienced an increase in the number of cleanups completed due to RBCA, while other states have not. With regard to the question of efficiency, there is some evidence that the cost-savings anticipated due to RBCA implementation have not been realized in all states. Weaknesses in the data available for this investigation point to the need for collection and reporting of more accurate and useful information to support better quantitative evaluations of the impact of RBCA specifically and environmental programs and policies more generally. Prior to implementation of new policies, meaningful and measurable indicators of performance should be identified and appropriate steps taken to ensure that relevant data are collected so that efficacy of a new program or policy can be accurately evaluated. The findings of this investigation are a substantial improvement over previous reviews of UST program reported in the literature and merit consideration by policymakers.