Non-uniform regulations of underground storage tanks in the United States - Calls for a national-scale revision

Leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) are one of the major sources of gr ound water contamination. United States federal regulations for USTs were e stablished in September of 1988. Since that time little or no amendments ha ve been made to these regulations. In order to protect sensitive areas such as aquifer recharge zones for public water supply wells and wetlands, diff erent states have been obligated to apply more stringent standards than the federal UST regulations. This practice however, has led to a non-uniform a pplication of regulations for USTs throughout the country. In this article, United States regulations for USTs are reviewed and its deficits are highl ighted. Based on these regulations and the experience of northeastern state s of United States, a sequence of leak and spill preventive measures for US Ts is proposed. Application of the proposed measures could substantially re duce the possibility of UST failure and would be more protective of the sub surface environment. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.