Illinois Amends Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Program
September 6, 2002
Mark J. Steger- Chicago
On June 24, 2002, Governor Ryan signed into law amendments to Illinois’
Petroleum Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program (Public Act 92-0554). The
amendments require that upon the discovery of a release of petroleum from a UST,
owners or operators must now perform a site investigation rather than a site
classification. The amendments also raise the maximum amount that maybe
reimbursed from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to $1.5 million from $1
million. Releases reported after June 24, 2002, are covered by these
amendments, and an owner or operator may elect to proceed under these new
provisions if the release was reported prior to June 24, 2002.
Under the old law, after the discovery of a release of petroleum from a UST,
the owner or operator was required to perform a site classification, which would
classify the site in one of three ways: no further action, low priority or high
priority. The required corrective action was then based upon how the site was
classified. Site classification was based upon soil type and characteristics,
distance from setback zones and regulated recharge areas of water supply wells,
and from special resource groundwaters. A groundwater investigation was also
required.
Under the new law, after the discovery of a release the owner or operator
must perform a site investigation to determine the nature, concentration,
direction and rate of movement; and the extent of contamination and any
significant physical features of the site and surrounding area that may affect
the contaminant transport that may be a risk to human health and safety and the
environment. The site investigation requirements focus on a risk-based analysis
of the site conditions (soil and groundwater) rather than on soil type, distance
from water supply wells or the presence of groundwater contamination. The site
investigation report also must include proposed remediation objectives using the
tiered approach to corrective- action objectives regulations. If contamination
exceeds the remediation objectives, a corrective action plan must be submitted
to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for approval. After
completion of the corrective action, a corrective action completion report must
be submitted to the IEPA for approval. After approval of the corrective action
completion report, indicating that the remediation objectives have been
achieved, the IEPA will issue a no further remediation letter, which must then
be recorded on the property.
The new amendments also impose a reporting requirement if, within four years
after approval of a corrective action plan, the applicable remediation
objectives have not been achieved and a corrective action completion report has
not been submitted. In this instance, a status report must be submitted to the
IEPA detailing, among other things, the remediation activities taken to date and
when the remediation objectives are expected to be achieved. If the IEPA
determines that the corrective action plan will not achieve the remediation
objectives within a reasonable period of time, the IEPA may require that the
owner or operator submit a revised corrective action plan for approval.
Within the next few months, the IEPA should be proposing regulations for
adoption by the Illinois Pollution Control Board addressing these new
requirements.
For more information, contact Mark Steger, toll free at 888-688-8500, or via
e-mail at mark.steger@hklaw.com.
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