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Partnerships Help Protect America’s Soil and Groundwater
Release Date: 03/03/2004
Contact Information:
Dave Ryan 202-564-7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov
03/03/2004 - A new report released this week shows how EPA, state and tribal agencies, and industry have worked together over the past two decades to protect our nation’ soil and groundwater from leaking tanks. The report highlights that since 1984, these partnerships have resulted in: the closing of 1.5 million unsafe tanks leaving a population of 700,000 active tanks all of which have been upgraded or replaced; completed over 300,000 cleanups; and dramatically reduced the number of new releases from a high of over 66,000 in 1990 to roughly 12,000 in 2003. EPA unveiled the report entitled, “Underground Storage Tanks: Building On the Past to Protect the Future” at the 16th Annual Underground Storage Tanks/Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Conference in New Orleans. In 1984, President Reagan signed legislation directing EPA to protect the public from petroleum leaks from underground tanks at gas stations and other places. Two years later, Congress created the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to provide a funding source for cleaning up these petroleum leaks, and in 1988, EPA issued regulations to implement these new laws. The UST/LUST National Conference attracts representatives from state, federal and tribal agencies and national trade associations from across the United States and its six territories to discuss best management practices and upcoming issues relating to protecting the environment and human health from the dangers of release from USTs. To see the entire report, go to: https://www.epa.gov/oust/pubs/20annrpt.pdf . Paper copies of “Underground Storage Tanks: Building On the Past to Protect the Future” (EPA 510-R-04-001) may be ordered online from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP). For on-line ordering, go to: https://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/ordering.htm call 1-800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190. To get more information on the UST/LUST Conference, go to: http://staging.icfconsulting.com/epa/ust/Registration.nsf/content/index.html .
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