The December 22, 1998 upgrade deadline for Underground Storage Tanks was a huge success in Washington. “It was absolutely crazy around here in November and December” said Barry Rogowski, underground storage tank coordinator for the Department of Ecology. “But when the dust settled, we had met our goal; everybody who deserved a compliance tag had gotten one”.
Last year the legislature directed Ecology to issue a one time compliance tag to tank owners who had entirely upgraded their facilities with spill, overfill, and corrosion protection in an effort to meet the December 22nd deadline. Ecology and tank owners took on the huge task of getting the information straight about who had completed tank upgrades and who had not. When the proper information was submitted to Ecology, and motorcycle sized license plate was issued to the UST site. The “compliance tag” must be displayed where then tanker truck driver can see it, or they can’t deliver fuel.
Just six months after the deadline 87 percent of all UST sites in the state are entirely upgraded. “That accounts for 93% percent of the operational tanks”, said Rogowski, “many of the sites that are not yet upgraded are non-retailers with only one tank.” EPA estimates the national tank upgrade average is 60 percent.
Ecology was very impressed by the amount of cooperation by UST owners trying to meet the deadline. With the help of tank owners, Ecology was able to issue tags to 3,700 facilities in one year. Currently, there are 4,300 sites operating USTs in the state.
During the month of December, the UST staff at Ecology were turning the mail around in one day, and sending compliance tags out in overnight mail to make sure UST owners did not have their business interrupted. All of the Ecology Regional offices were issuing compliance tags directly to UST owners who showed up in person. ‘If they had all the right paperwork, they were out the door in under a half-hour” said Karen Backman, an Ecology inspector.
Ecology has excellent information in their database of who has not yet met the upgrade deadline. Now the big job is going out and getting those people who have not yet upgraded into compliance. “Ecology inspectors will be out in full force this year to inspect all the sites that are not upgraded,” said Rogowski, “and we are issuing penalties.”
To reach the UST Compliance Hotline just call 1-800-826-7716 or for a list of facilities issued a compliance tag visit our web site at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/ust/tags.html.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is proposing changes to the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) cleanup regulation (WAC 173-340). How will this affect you? Some of the changes will affect the way cleanup levels are determined at sites contaminated by releases of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and/or fuel oils. Ecology’s proposal will allow the constrained use of risk based decision making for completing petroleum cleanups. The number of cleanup actions impacted by these changes may be significant, because petroleum products are the most prevalent types of contaminants at MTCA sites.
The Department of Ecology is working with representatives from City of Seattle, King County, the Port of Seattle, the City of Tukwila and state and federal agencies to develop a methodology for setting site-specific, risk based cleanup levels at petroleum-contaminated sites.
The objective of the MTCA rule changes are to review, develop and implement methods to evaluate all TPH-contaminated sites in relationship to human health, environmental effect, chemical fate and transport models and risk management tools.
The new MTCA rule would allow greater flexibility in using site-specific information to make remedial decisions at many petroleum cleanup sites.
To learn more about this proposed rule change and how it will affect cleanups in Washington, contact Steve Robb at (360) 407-7188 or get more information and share comments through the Internet site at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/cleanup.html.
A temporarily closed tank is one that is not being used now but is planned to be used in the future. A tank should be permanently closed when you have no plans of ever using the tank again.
What you are required to do to your UST during a temporary closure depends on the age of your tank, whether or not the tank is empty, and how long the tank will be temporarily closed. If gas, diesel, or other regulated substances are left in the tank, there are additional steps to take. To prevent a release, Ecology recommends that you empty your tank during the time it is temporarily closed. Keep in mind, there may be city, county, fire code, or other local ordinances that have additional requirements for your underground storage tank.
You must notify Ecology within thirty days of placing your UST into temporary closure. To meet this requirement, a special order form must be completed and returned to Ecology within 30 days of tank closure. The form is entitled, “Underground Storage Tank Closure and Site Assessment Notice,” form #ECY 020-94 (Rev. 6/95). If you need a form, call toll free in the state of Washington, 1-800-826-7716 or (360) 407-7170.
Financial responsibility is not required on your tank if your system is properly closed. However, you are responsible for the environmental and personal damages caused if your tank leaks. For that reason, it may be in your best interest to maintain insurance coverage during a temporary closure. You are required to pay your permit fee until the tank is permanently closed.
Tank closures less than three months: Note – if your tank is made of steel, you should already have some sort of corrosion protection. You need to make sure it’s working properly.
Regardless of what the tank is made of, you must:
Tank Closures three to twelve months: If your tank is made of steel, you must continue to operate and maintain corrosion protection. Regardless of what the tank is made of, you must:
Tank Closure More Than Twelve Months: If your tank is empty or contains gas, diesel, or other regulated substances, the tank must:
If your UST system does not meet the above requirements, you can request an extension from Ecology before the twelve months are up. If your tank does not meet corrosion protection standards, a site assessment must be completed before you may request an extension from Ecology.
Caution: Owners and operators who have not obtained an extension for an UST temporarily closed for more than twelve months are subject to enforcement action by Ecology.
A claims-made insurance policy was created for pollution liability as a solution to problems sometimes associated with occurrence policies, where coverage applies to all claims arising out of all occurrences during the policy period regardless of when the claim is made. The problem with occurrence policies is due to the “long tail” from claims that may result once a policy is no longer in force. For example, and underground storage tank may have been leaking for 10 –15 years. This length of time or “long tail” makes it difficult if not impossible for insurance companies to measure the extent of their exposure or risk.
Under a claims-made policy, only those claims which are filed with the insurance company during the policy period resulting from an incident occurring during that policy period, are covered. When the policy is renewed with the same insurer, however, coverage for prior acts should be provided back to the date the policy was first issued. This prior acts coverage is referred to as a retroactive or retro date.
For example, a UST facility purchases a claims-made pollution liability policy effective June 1, 1996 with a June 1, 1996 retroactive (retro) date, expiring on May 31, 1997. This policy would cover a claim as long as the incident occurred and the claim was filed with the insurance company during this twelve-month period. If the policy was renewed with the same insurance company for an additional year with a June 1, l996 retroactive (retro) date, a claim made during this additional year would be covered even if the incident had occurred during the earlier policy term. However, any claim made in 1997 resulting form a pollution incident that occurred in 1995 would not be covered. The 1995 incident predates the retroactive date (June 1, 1996) of this policy.
Therefore, it is important to review your pollution insurance policy at each renewal to verify that the retroactive (retro) date is correct. If you change insurance companies, in most cases the retroactive (retro) date will be the inception date of the new policy and you will forfeit any chance of recovery for claims that occurred prior to this new inception date.
Tail coverage or the extended reporting period, extends the period of time to report a claim beyond the end of the policy period. In the case o a claims made policy, claims are only paid that are reported to the insurance company during the policy period. If a UST facility is being temporarily closed, you made need to purpose tail coverage to protect against claims that were unknown at the end of the policy period. The tail provides and additional period of time to report a claims to the insurance company. However, the claim must occur during the original policy period.
As always, final determination for payment of any claims includes other actors, such as the terms, conditions and exclusions as set forth in your pollution liability policy. The application for insurance is “warranted” as part of you insurance policy. You should always read your policy carefully and verify that the application is completed correctly. Consult with your insurance professional to see that the pollution insurance policy meets your needs and complies with all State and Federal financial responsibility requirements.
For more information contact the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency at (360) 586-5997.
Ecology awarded 85 grants with a total dollar amount of $3,757,094 during FY98-99 to counties, cities, ports, fire districts, school districts, etc., for the cleanup and removal of tanks. The grants were awarded through the Remedial Action Grant Program and is available when the local government:
This grant program has no set application period for remedial actions grants. However, Ecology should receive applications within 60 days of the effective date of the order or decree.
For further information (funding information, eligible costs and how to apply for this grant), please call Steve Loftness at (360) 407-6060. Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/99505.html
The Department of Ecology will soon be updating the mailing list for the Tank Bulletin.
The newsletter will be posted on our web site at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/cleanup.html and we will be asking which version (hard copy or electronic) you prefer. We will then limit the printed version’s mailing list to those we hear from.
Tank Bulletin is produced by the Toxics Cleanup Program of the Department
of Ecology to provide information to registered underground storage tank owners
and operators and others who need to be kept current on UST issues. New editions
will be published as the need arises.
Ecology is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. If you have
special accommodation needs or require this newsletter in an alternative format,
please call (360) 407-7232 (voice) or (360) 407-6006 (TDD).
Jennifer Taylor, Permits/Compliance
(360) 407-6139
Joyce Smith, Permits/Compliance
(360) 407-7206
Teri Fisher, Tank Bulletin
(360) 407-7232
Barry Rogowski, UST/LUST Coordinator
(360) 407-7236
UST/LUST Information
1-800-826-7716
