Abandoned Underground Storage Tank (UST) - State Water ...

3.2.5 Recalcitrant Responsible Parties/Lack of Enforcement Support
Recalcitrant RPs – those who are unwilling to conduct required closure activities or simply unresponsive
– can be a major hindrance for the local agencies. UPA managers reportedly do not have sufficient
resources, staff, and/or legal support to pursue enforcement activities on a large scale. In many cases,
the local agencies may issue several Notices of Violation (NOV) to the owners or even “red tag” the site,
which is only effective for facilities with operating USTs which suffer lost revenue from fuel sales. It
doesn’t affect the operation of businesses that are not using the USTs. Typically, longtime recalcitrant
cases are referred to the District Attorney’s office. However, no additional enforcement activities are
pursued for many of the sites after NOVs are issued or the sites are “red tagged.”
3.2.6 Old/Unpermitted Sites
In the past, USTs were installed without regulatory oversight agencies, such as a UPA. Consequently,
numerous inactive USTs that are unpermitted and unregulated remain in the ground. Many sites with
old USTs installed before the establishment of the UPAs remain unidentified, and the USTs are
discovered during other types of on-site inspections or unrelated construction activities. Some local
agencies do not have a process developed to address old and unpermitted UST sites and thus do not
include these sites under their regulatory umbrella. The agencies lack the staff resources to locate the
RP and bring the USTs into compliance or require closure.
3.2.7 Restrictive Criteria for State and Federal Funding Sources
Several state and federal funding sources are available to owners and operators of USTs and are further
discussed in Section 4.0. Specific funding-source requirements prohibit many of the abandoned UST
sites from obtaining financial assistance. The result is sites without state or federal mechanisms to
address the abandoned UST issues. The main funding source for UST removal is the State’s Replacing,
Removing, or Upgrading Underground Storage Tanks (RUST) Program.
The RUST Program offers direct grants and loans to assist owners and operators of active facilities to
comply with UST regulatory requirements. However, the RUST Program is not applicable to the owners
and operators of abandoned UST sites, because the USTs must be in operation at the time of application
to the program.
Of the 48 LUST sites in GeoTracker, some may already be in the Cleanup Fund (CUF). The CUF can
provide financial assistance to assess and clean up LUST sites. The CUF provides financial assistance to
owners and operators to meet the federal and state requirements. It provides reimbursement for
unexpected and catastrophic expenses associated with the cleanup of leaking USTs. However, the CUF is
limited because it will provide funds for cleanup but will not provide funds for tank removal.
The Orphan Site Cleanup Fund (OSCF) and the Emergency Abandoned and Recalcitrant (EAR) Account
Program will also provide funds for tank removal. However, the OSCF is restricted to sites in urban areas
that have been vacant for at least one year. The EAR Account Program is applicable to sites with a
confirmed release, which most abandoned UST sites do not have.
8