Nick Snow
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 17 -- The US Environmental Protection Agency issued the final secondary containment grant guidelines for states on Nov. 16, implementing a key provision of the underground storage tank amendments in the 2005 energy policy act.
Secondary containment provides a barrier between an underground storage tank and the environment by holding leaking petroleum between the barrier and tank so the leak can be detected. EPA, which provides funding to states through grants to regulate underground storage tanks, said it worked with states and regional tank offices to develop the guidelines.
The guidelines provide compliance requirements, detailed definitions and examples for states choosing to implement the secondary containment provision. Owners and operators would not be required to retrofit equipment, but would have to follow the guidelines with replacements or installation of new equipment, the agency said.
EPA said states receiving funds under Subtitle 1 of the Waste Disposal Act must by Feb. 7, 2006, implement either these guidelines or financial responsibility and certification grant guidelines that the agency will issue in the next few months.
The agency is giving states maximum flexibility to establish their own secondary containment requirements by that date because it is only a few months away. For states demonstrating good faith efforts to meet the requirements, EPA said it has the flexibility to continue providing them assistance as they implement their programs.
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