Underground Fuel Tank Regulations in Illinois

On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an update to underground storage tank (UST) regulation and state program approval (SPA) regulation in the Federal Register. This was the first major revision to federal UST regulations since 1988.

These new rules formed the basis of state regulations across the country. Illinois adopted the Federal Technical underground storage tanks (UST) regulations in 1989. Prior to that USTs have been regulated by the Illinois OSFM. The new rules that came out for the state had to be more stringent than federal regulation

So now we are over half-way through 2019 and those regulations are affecting hundreds of gas station owners throughout Illinois. Many owners are being issued Notice of Violations from the Illinois Fire Marshal. The violations can be costly and owners who fail to clear the violations can face hefty fines. Civil penalties for failure to comply with any state requirements or standards for existing or new tank systems must be capable of being assessed for each instance of violation, up to $5,000 or more for each tank for each day of violation. These penalties are according to Page 41,681 of the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 135, July 15, 2015.

In the U.S. Currently there are over 160,000 fueling facilities with about 1,600 new facilities opening in a year. With all the existing and new facilities opening up, state and federal authorities are having difficulties being able to keep up with the large workload. In addition tank contractors and consultants are trying to keep up with all the work.

In some instances, owners of underground fuel tanks might want to think about replacing the tanks. In the U.S. about 20% of underground storage tanks are over 30 years old. Add in that the typical gas station has 60 components and the idea of upgrading or fixing a site becomes questionable.

Removal of the tanks and installing new might be a better option.