Underground storage tanks hold oil or other liquids with 10% or more of their mass below ground. They are regulated by the US EPA for commercial use and must monitor groundwater for leaks. Tanks can rust and degrade, causing pollution. Homeowners can convert to above ground tanks, but some states don’t allow resale. Leak detection methods can be built in, but monitoring wells may be needed to detect leaks.
A basic underground storage tank is a tank that holds oil or other products and has 10% or more of its mass below ground. They are most commonly made of steel or aluminum, but developments in composite materials have advanced the construction of underground storage tanks and are much less likely to leak or rust. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated the use of an underground storage tank for commercial purposes, and legislation now states that groundwater must be monitored around the perimeter of wells for leaks that could pollute the groundwater.
When a person buys a tank of gas at a gas station, they don’t notice the large underground storage tank that holds the fuel. These large tanks can typically hold anywhere from a few hundred gallons to tens of thousands of gallons of product. Primarily used for oil, an underground storage tank can hold any type of liquid.
Rural houses may also have a smaller underground tank for fuel for farm equipment. These mostly do not fall under US EPA regulation. The United States EPA defines a regulated underground storage tank as a holding tank for commercial purposes that holds 1,100 gallons (4,164 liters) of liquid or more, so most residential or agricultural underground storage tanks are unregulated.
Due to the ability of tanks to rust and degrade over time, many tanks have leaked across the United States and beyond, polluting soil and groundwater. In the 1980s, the US EPA began regulating the use and leak detection efforts at underground storage tank sites. In 1989, the US EPA required homeowners to remove, repair, or replace underground storage tanks on their property.
Property owners who don’t want the cost of underground storage tanks can convert to an above ground storage tank to allow for closer monitoring of leaks and easier maintenance. Many states, however, do not allow the resale of fuel from an above ground storage tank. Therefore, the options are limited and the costs associated with locating, installing, repairing or removing an underground storage tank can be significant.
Some leak detection methods can be built into the construction of the underground storage tank, but sometimes the only way to determine if there was or is an underground storage tank leak is to install monitoring wells around the piece of ground. Devices such as tanks or pumps will take samples of the groundwater. The samples are then tested by the laboratories for priority pollutants defined by the US EPA.
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