Nick Snow
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 26 -- Underground storage tank manufacturers and installers must have financial resources to clean up a site if a leak or spill occurs due to improper manufacturing or installation, the US Environmental Protection Agency said as it issued two final grant guidelines for states on Jan. 24.
The guidelines, which implement key underground storage tank provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPACT), also require a state's public record to include the number, sources, and causes of releases; tank compliance records; and data on equipment failures, EPA said.
The first set of guidelines describes the minimum financial responsibility and installer certification provision requirements for states to comply with EPACT. These include definitions, requirements, criteria, and options for states in implementing the provision.
By Feb. 8, states receiving federal funds under Subtitle I of the Waste Disposal Act must implement either these guidelines or the second containment grant guidelines that EPA issued in November 2006, the federal agency said. EPA will assist states as they implement programs in appropriate cases if the states demonstrate good faith and progress toward meeting the requirements.
The public record guidelines describe minimum requirements for states meeting the public record provision under EPACT. They include developing and updating the public record, making it available, describing the minimum public record content, ensuring data quality, and demonstrating and ensuring compliance with guidelines, EPA said.
EPA also is seeking public comments on two draft grant guidelines for state reports on compliance for underground storage tanks owned and operated by federal, state, and local governments under EPACT.
EPA, which will accept comments through Feb. 22, said it worked with states and other entities to develop the draft grant guidelines. It said it plans to incorporate them into its grant agreements with the states once they become final.
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