The U.S. oil industry is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce a Dec. 22 deadline for owners and operators of certain underground storage tank systems to upgrade, replace, or close them.
The American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America recently urged EPA to require timely compliance.
In a joint letter, the oil groups said the industry has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to comply with the underground storage tank regulations. They said the vast majority of tank owners and operators already have brought their facilities into compliance.
The groups urged EPA to repeat a May 1997 initiative, when its 10 regional offices worked with the states to ensure compliance with the underground storage tank leak-detection standards. In that program, EPA announced a major compliance effort and gave tank owners and operators notice that inspectors could appear at their locations. EPA made 1,000 inspections during a 1-month period using its regional enforcement staff.
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