- WASHINGTON DC (ENS)
- More than 76,000 leaking underground storage tanks across the country
are polluting the nationís groundwater, while the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) can do little to solve the problem.
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- The leaks could be eliminated if Congress and the EPA
would improve inspections and provide the necessary authority to bring
tank owners into compliance with existing regulations, according to a top
Congressional watchdog.
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- In testimony given Wednesday before a subcommittee of
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, John Stephenson,
director of natural resources and environment of the General Accounting
Office, provided evidence to show that more clout and funding from Congress
could bring states into compliance with law.
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- The General Accounting Office (GAO) is the investigative
branch of the U.S. Congress. Independent and nonpartisan, it studies how
the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
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- Recent studies have shown that underground tanks across
the country are leaking hazardous substances, Stephenson told the Senate
Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, Risk and Waste Management.
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- In fiscal year 2000, more than 14,500 leaks or releases
from regulated tanks were reported.
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- A leaky underground storage tank is unearthed. (Photos
courtesy EPA) As an example, Stephenson told the lawmakers of a school
in Roselawn, Indiana, that discovered the children had been using and drinking
water with 10 times the EPAís recommended safe limit of the gasoline
additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE, an oxygenate added to
fuel for reducing emissions and raising octane, has been found in drinking
water sources due to leaks in underground storage tanks. MTBE poses health
risks including damage to kidneys, livers and, in some cases even cancer,
Stephenson testified.
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- A two year GAO sponsored survey determined that approximately
1.5 million tanks have been permanently closed since the EPA Underground
Storage Tank (UST) program was created in 1984. This left about 693,000
tanks subject to UST requirements and left the states' programs to deal
with these tanks.
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- The EPA has provided funding, about $187,000 per state,
for dealing with the problem tanks, Stephenson said. The EPA retains authority
for a small number of tanks mostly on Indian lands.
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- In addition, the Congress created a trust fund in 1986
to help EPA and the states cover tank cleanup costs that owners and operators
could not afford or were reluctant to pay. The fund is replenished partly
through a $.001/gallon tax on gasoline and other fuels. At the end of fiscal
year 2001, the fund had a balance of about $1.7 billion.
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- Based on the states' responses to the GAO survey, the
agency estimated that about 89 percent of the tanks had the required protective
equipment installed. But more than 200,000 tanks were not being operated
or maintained properly, increasing the chance of leaks.
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- Nineteen states reported frequent problems with corrosion
prevention equipment, and 15 states reported that leak detection equipment
was frequently turned off or improperly maintained. Of the remaining 76,000
tanks that had not been retrofitted with the required equipment, EPA and
the states speculated that the tanks were probably inactive and empty.
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- Leakage apparent once the tank is revealed. Even though
the tanks may have leaked in the past, the contamination, which poses health
risks, is often not discovered until the tank is dug up for removal. Most
states and the EPA do not know if all inactive tanks are empty because
those tanks have not been inspected. Over half of the states do not inspect
all of their tanks frequently enough to meet the minimum EPA rate, which
is at least one inspection every three years. The ability to block deliveries
has proven to be one of the most effective tools for ensuring compliance
with program requirements, but 27 states lack the authority to prohibit
fuel deliveries to stations with problem tanks.
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- "EPA believes, and we agree," said Stephenson,
"that the law governing the tank program does not give the agency
clear authority to regulate fuel suppliers and therefore prohibit their
deliveries."
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- State agencies with insufficient money, staff or authority
must rely instead on issuing citations and fines.
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- From the survey it is apparent that few government agencies
know the status of underground tanks located in their jurisdiction, Stephenson
told the subcommittee. Fourteen states reported some tank leaks, 17 said
their tanks never leaked and 20 states did not know if leaks occurred.
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- The EPA and some localities have studies underway to
obtain better data on leaks from upgraded tanks. The EPA is also considering
whether it needs to set new tank requirements, such as double-walled tanks,
to prevent further leaks.
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- Stephenson said the statistics show that improved inspection,
an expanded staff and broader authority to enforce regulations are the
keys to remediation of the health hazards posed by the tanks.
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- To address these problems, the GAO report recommends
that the EPA should work with the states to determine training needs and
ways to fill them. More specifically, there is a strong need to address
the estimated 76,000 tanks that have not yet been upgraded, closed, or
removed as required.
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- The report contains recommendations to the EPA and suggestions
to the Congress on ways to promote better inspections and enforcement.
Resource shortfalls can be overcome by expanding the use of the $1.7 billion
tank cleanup trust fund to also cover additional inspection and enforcement
activities, Stephenson explained.
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- Empty or inactive tanks appear to pose less risk than
leaky tanks still in use. But even given a lower priority, the inactive
noncompliant tanks can cover up contamination from earlier leaks. It is
not until those tanks are removed that contaminated soil is discovered,
because while a tank is in place there is no reliable method for testing
the earth surrounding it.
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- Some states reported operators turning off leak detection
equipment, particularly at tanks owned by small, independent businesses,
such as cab companies and local governments. The states attributed these
problems to a lack of training for tank owners, operators, and inspectors,
Stephenson told the subcommittee. Smaller businesses and local governments
find it more difficult to afford adequate training, especially given the
high turnover rates among tank staff, he said.
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- Almost all the states reported a need for additional
resources to keep their own inspectors and program staff trained. Forty-one
states requested additional technical assistance from the federal government
to provide such training.
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- The EPA is in the process of implementing its compliance
improvement initiative, which involves actions such as setting the targets
and providing incentives to tank owners, but it is too early to gauge the
impact of the agency's efforts on compliance rates.
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- Excavated tanks are hauled away for disposal According
to EPA's program managers, only physical inspections can confirm whether
tanks have been upgraded and are being properly operated and maintained.
But most states do not meet the EPA's recommendation to inspect all tanks
every three years nor do they have the enforcement tools needed to identify
and correct problems. Only 19 states physically inspect all of their tanks
even at the minimum rate that EPA considers necessary for effective tank
monitoring. Ten states inspect all tanks, but less frequently.
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- The remaining 22 states do not inspect all tanks, but
instead generally target inspections to potentially problematic tanks,
such as those close to drinking water sources.
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- Under current staffing levels inspectors in 11 states
would each have to visit more than 300 facilities a year to cover all tanks
at least once every three years. But EPA officials estimate that a qualified
inspector can visit at most 200 facilities a year. Because most states
use their own employees to conduct inspections, state legislatures would
need to provide them with additional hiring authority and the funding to
hire more inspectors.
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- Officials in 40 states said that they would support a
federal mandate requiring states to periodically inspect all tanks. Such
a mandate would provide them with the needed leverage to convince their
state legislatures to fund an adequate inspection staff, they told the
GAO.
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