Underground Storage Tank (UST) Public Record --

A reporting requirement of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005

Sources and Causes of LUST Releases in Washington State for Federal Fiscal Year 2011 (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011)

General Information (as of October 2011):

Total Number of UST Facilities – 3,466
Total Number of Active USTs – 9,610

Summary Information for On-Site Inspections (for Federal Fiscal Year 2011):

Total Number of UST Facility Compliance Inspections Conducted: 1,480 (1,420 by Ecology inspectors and 60 by EPA inspectors)

Percent Compliance with UST Rule on the day of inspection (a combined measure of release detection and release prevention
requirements): 66%

NOTE: Tank Facility and on-site inspection information is based on USTs regulated under federal Subtitle I that satisfy the definition of UST in 40 CFR 280.12, except for those identified in 40 CFR 280.10(b) and (c) as excluded or deferred USTs. Emergency power generator USTs are included. On-site compliance inspections measure significant operational compliance as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Summary Information on UST Releases (for Federal Fiscal Year 2011):

Number of Confirmed Releases – 40

Anecdotally, a majority of the 40 releases reported were likely “legacy releases”. Legacy or historical releases are ones that may have happened years ago and only detected recently. The release may have been discovered as the result of a site assessment or property redevelopment/transaction involving tank removals. That would be in contrast to releases discovered due to leak detection record keeping, tank gauging systems, UST operator discoveries, unusual operating conditions, etc. as part of ongoing operation of the USTs. During tank removals/closures, detailed examinations to determine the source or cause of the release are not routinely conducted and/or reported to Ecology. Additionally, the cause of a legacy release is more difficult to determine than a recent one. Therefore, one will find a large percentage of the Sources and Causes of the releases identified in the chart below as “unknown”.

SOURCES			CAUSES
SOURCES			Spill		Overfill		Physical/Mechanical Damage		Corrosion		Installation Problem		Other		Unknown
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Tank	5	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	3	7
Piping	7	18	2	5	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	2	5
Dispenser	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5
STP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Delivery Problem	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	3	7	1	3	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0
Unknown	23	57	1	3	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	47
TOTALS	40	100%	4	11	4	11	0	0	2	5	0	0	2	6	26	64

# = number % = Percent of total number

Information posted March 13, 2012