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.