What Must I Do When I Have A Release?

When a release occurs from an Aboveground or Underground storage tank, the owner and/or operator of the tank is required to report the release to DEQ and/or other governmental agencies. Release reporting requirements are dependent upon the statutes and regulation governing the tank from which the release occurred, the contents of the tank, and the nature of the release.

Suspected and Confirmed releases from USTs subject to the requirements of the UST Technical Regulation must be reported to DEQ within 24 hours of discovery of the release. Discharges of oil from sources other than tanks subject to the UST Technical Regulation (e.g. home heating oil tanks, above ground storage tanks, farm tanks) must be reported to DEQ immediately upon discovery of the discharge.

Releases must be reported to the appropriate DEQ Regional Office . For additional information about release reporting, please see Chapter 2 of the Storage Tank Program Technical Manual .

Suspected Releases

(Date Written: 3/1/95)

Highlights:

• Suspected releases must be reported to DEQ (immediately for ASTs and within 24 hours for USTs).
• DEQ must pre-approve all release investigation activities to be eligible for reimbursement.
• Requests for site checks, tightness tests, etc., will be solicited by DEQ on a site specific basis.
• It is the owner/operator's responsibility to ensure that costs for any investigative work are usual and customary (See the DEQ UCR Schedule Volume II ).

Reasons for Suspecting a Release

• The discovery of free product, contaminated soil, contaminated groundwater, or vapors in the vicinity of the UST or AST system, including off-site impacts.
• Unusual UST operating conditions (such as problems with the pump dispenser, loss of product, water in the system).
• Monitoring results indicating that a release has occurred (unless the equipment was found to be defective, or if using inventory control or manual tank gauging, a second set of results show a release has not occurred).
• Statistical Inventory Reconciliation results from two consecutive months are inconclusive.

The conditions listed above are not observed and analytical results for any sample collected at the site is as follows:

- Analytical results from samples collected during storage tank closure:
- Storage tanks that contain petroleum

TPH - soil greater than or equal to 100 mg/kg
TPH - water greater than or equal to 1 mg/l
All other petroleum constituents greater than the detection limit

- Regulated USTs containing non-petroleum regulated substances

Analytical results for the substance stored in the tank that exceed the detection limit for that substance.

- Analytical results from samples collected at any time other than storage tank closure:

Any concentration of petroleum or a regulated substance that exceeds the detection limit for that substance.

Release Investigation Report

1. An Activity Authorization Form must be completed and approved by the Regional Office (RO) prior to any investigative work. Typical requirements for confirming or refuting a release may include (but are not limited to):
   • A topographic map indicating site location;
   • A complete and detailed site map:

     -including scale, north arrow, and legend;
     -including all buildings, roads, and adjacent properties;
     -clearly showing the tank system (including pipelines, pumps, former tank basins, etc.); -showing proposed soil sample and monitor well locations;
     -providing any risk information (potential receptors, e.g., wells, basements, surface water, etc.).

   • Information and documentation pertaining to current release detection employed at the facility;
   • Soil, groundwater, or surface water sampling;
   • Tightness test;
   • Sensitive Receptor Survey;
   • Geologic information (bedrock, soils, structures, etc.).
2. When you report a suspected release, the DEQ will send a letter outlining the requirements for this investigation and will furnish a due date for the Release Investigation Report. Deadlines will be issued in consideration of the work requested and site specific conditions. Deadline extensions will be granted only when deemed warranted by DEQ staff.

(Revised 1/7/99)

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Confirmed Releases

(Date Written: 3/1/95)

Highlights:

• Confirmed releases must be reported to DEQ (immediately for ASTs and within 24 hours for USTs).
• DEQ must pre-approve all site investigation and corrective action activities on the Activity Authorization Form).
• Corrective action requirements are site specific and risk-based.
• It is the tank owner/operator's responsibility to ensure that costs for any investigative and corrective action work are usual and customary (See the DEQ UCR Schedule).

Pre-Approval of Site Investigation Work and Report Submittal

1. All site work must be pre-approved by the Regional Office (RO). If an acute hazard (fire, explosion, environmental emergency, etc.) exists at the site, the tank owner/operator must take immediate action to abate the hazard regardless of whether DEQ has pre-approved the necessary work.
2. To be eligible for reimbursement, an Activity Authorization Package must be provided to the RO as soon as possible after reporting a release. This package may be mailed or faxed to the RO.

   The Activity Authorization Package consists of:

   • A USGS topographic map indicating site location;
   • A complete and detailed site map:

   -including scale, north arrow, and legend;
   -including all buildings, roads, underground utilities, and adjacent properties;
   -clearly showing the tank system (including pipelines, pumps, former tank basins, etc.); -showing proposed soil sample and monitor well locations;
   -providing any risk information (potential receptors; e.g. wells, basements, surface water, etc.).

   • The proposed Activity Authorization Form (please use black ink if faxing).
3. Once the Activity Authorization Package is approved and signed by the RO, site work may begin. Deadlines for specific reports will be issued by the RO. Deadlines will be issued in consideration of the work requested and site specific conditions. Deadline extensions will only be granted when deemed warranted by the DEQ staff.
4. If the RO requests an Initial Abatement Report, please include:

   -a brief description of the release;
   -any relevant site information;
   -appropriate site maps and/or figures;
   -all steps taken to abate the release (hazard mitigation, prevention of further release, free product removal, etc.);
   -a completed AAF (approved by the RO, with work performed column filled out). If the RO requests a Site Characterization Report (SCR), please follow the general steps outlined in the “Elements of a Site Characterization Report” Fact Sheet. If the RO requests a limited or site specific SCR, include only the steps requested by the RO. A completed AAF (approved by the RO, the work performed column filled out) must be included with the SCR.
   

(Revised 2/10/98)

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Reporting Requirements for Suspected and Confirmed Releases

The owner or operator of a storage tank must report a release to DEQ when:

1. Contaminants are released into and/or observed in the environment. Evidence includes:

• There is a spill or release from the storage tank system
• There is an impacted receptor
• Drinking water supplies are contaminated
• Vapors are observed in buildings or structures
• Free product is observed in the environment or in monitoring well used for release detection
• Stained soil is observed
• A sheen is observed on surface water

  EXCEPTIONS:

• A discharge of oil from a facility (ASTs, unregulated USTs, or other types of facilities) does not have to be reported to DEQ if it is less than 25 gallons, does not reach state waters, is cleaned up immediately and the facility retains records of the incident as required by Article 11.

• A spill or overfill from a regulated UST system does not have to be reported to DEQ if the spill is less than 25 gallons, is cleaned up within 24 hours and does not cause a sheen on surface water.

1. The product dispensing equipment is operating in an unusual manner (Suspected Release). Examples are:

• Loss of product
• Water in the tank
• Product dispensing equipment does not dispense product or dispenses product at a greatly reduced rate
• An alarm is issued by an automatic line leak detector

1. Monitoring results from a release detection method indicate that a release may have occurred (Suspected Release). Examples are:

• Vapors are observed in vapor monitoring wells
• Inventory control discrepancies indicate that a release may have occurred (a gain or loss of product >130 gallons + 1% of throughput)
• Alarms from automatic tank gages, interstitial monitors, sumps, etc. indicate that a release may have occurred
• Statistical inventory reconciliation indicates a release

1. Conditions 1-3 above are not observed and analytical results for any sample collected at the site are as follows:

• Analytical results from samples collected during storage tank closure:

  Regulated USTs, ASTs, or Unregulated USTs that contain petroleum:

  1. TPH - soil......greater than or equal to 100 mg/kg
     TPH - water......greater than or equal to 1 mg/l
  2. All other petroleum constituents......greater than the detection limit for the constituent

Regulated USTs containing non-petroleum regulated substances:

• Analytical results for a regulated substance that is greater than the detection limit for that substance.
• Analytical results from samples collected at any time other than storage tank closure: Any concentration of petroleum or regulated substance that is above the detection limit for that substance.

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