Aboveground storage tank regulations

There are critical differences between the potential for environmental impact of aboveground and underground oil storage. For example, while leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs) seep into soil or aquifers, the concern with aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) is that an overfill or tank rupture can cause product to escape into a navigable stream and immediately create an oil spill pollution incident. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has very distinct programs outlining regulation parameters for each type of storage, including source of authority, regulatory cutoffs and exclusions, definitions, prevention and response requirements, and penalties, etc. Engineers considering changes or recommending a change in type of storage, particularly from a UST to an AST, need to be aware of existing federal regulations. Since the federal UST program began, remediation costs have skyrocketed as a result of the need to clean up leaking tank and piping sites, backfill and surrounding soil or groundwater. Compliance with federal and state UST regulations has not been cheap, and is expected to top $23 billion, according to some estimates. Partly as a result, market demand has shifted toward use of aboveground storage tanks, a trend that is expected to continue. Industry figures show a 100% increasemore » in factory fabricated aboveground tank activity during the last four years.« less