Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin

not perform adequate leak checks or
intentionally disconnect equipment
that would signal a leak. In 2002,
fifteen states reported to the GAO
that leak detection equipment was
frequently turned off or was not
maintained (GAO, 2002). The issue
of enforcement is of key importance.
Lack of monitoring of non-federally
regulated USTs is likely allowing
significant numbers of leaks to go
undetected for extended periods of
time. The longer sites are backlogged
the greater the subsurface area and
volume of groundwater that becomes
contaminated, resulting in increased
difficulties and costs associated with
site remediation. Depending on the
location and nature of the chemicals
released, remediation of the site may
become impossible, financially and/
or technically. Environment Canada
stated that contamination of surface
water by polluted groundwater is
likely just as serious as the contamination
of groundwater itself (United
States Geological Survey, 2004).
The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005
was developed in an effort to help
reduce leaks. The policy requires
tanks to be inspected once every
three years (GAO, 2007) and,
starting in 2007, tanks that do not
meet regulations will be denied shipments
(GAO, 2005). A number of
Great Lakes states have implemented
delivery prohibition programs (Table
5). Frequently this involves red and
green tags attached to tanks. For
example red tags identify tanks
ineligible to receive product (U.S.
EPA, 2008b). Regulations require
that all newly installed tanks meet
leak detection and prevention
standards. Existing tank owners had
until 1993 to install leak detection
equipment and 1998 to install leak
prevention methods (GAO, 2003).
However, not all tanks have been
inspected and some owners have still
not met this deadline. In addition
new tanks are frequently not properly
installed, operated or maintained. In
2007 according to the U.S. EPA, only
63% of U.S. tanks were in “significant
operational compliance” with both
Table 3.
State /
Province
Cost of LUST Cleanup in Great Lakes States and Provinces
Number
of Backlogs
Estimated Average
cost of Cleanup
Estimated Total
Cost (million)
Wisconsin 2,956 $133,581 $394.9
Illinois 7,513 $75,000 $563.5
Indiana 2,920 $135,000 $394.2
Michigan 9,069 $87,169 $790.5
Minnesota 984 $125,000* $123
Ohio 2,706 $58,587 $158.5
New York 2,972 $125,000* $371.5
Pennsylvania 3,842 $121,060 $465.1
Ontario
Total
9000**
34,962
$147,000*** $1,323
$4,584.2
* Average cost of cleanup for state unavailable, utilized U.S. EPA estimation of
$125,000
** Average of estimated 6,000-12,000 LUST sites in Ontario
*** Average cost of cleanup for province unavailable, utilized estimation of $147,000
(average cleanup for nation’s federal sites)
Source: U.S. EPA, 2006; Sierra Club, 2005; Lalonde, 1995; Alsip, 1993
Table 4.
Deadlines for Removal and Upgrading of USTs in Ontario
Age of UST
(years from installation)
Deadline for Removal
or Upgrade
≥ 25 (or unknown) October 1 st 2006
20-24 October 1 st 2007
10-19 October 1 st 2008
0-9 October 1 st 2009
Source: Carter, 2006
Table 5.
States with Red and Green Tag Programs
State Red Tag Green Tag Neither
NY
PA
IL
IN
MI
MN
OH
WI
Source: U.S. EPA, 2008b
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