By: Stephanie Berardi, MES, Regional Communications Manager, DEP Southeast Regional Office

Filling up your car at a gas station is a process we rarely think much about. But, do you know what’s under the ground beneath the pump?

There is an entire underground storage tank (UST) system that can house between 30,000-60,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.

USTs are generally made from fiberglass or steel, while the rest of the system is made up of a matrix of piping, dispensers, hoses, break-a-way systems, and fueling ports.

The average gas station goes through roughly 2,600 gallons of fuel every day and big-box stores average five times that amount, according to the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing (NACS).

With so much fuel dispensed from UST systems every day, it is important to ensure that equipment is working properly in a leak-free condition.

A leak from a UST will often result in a loss of pressure, causing the flow of gas to become really, really slow. So, if you are ever filling up your car and it seems like it’s taking forever, let the facility operator at the counter know!

You can also help prevent accidents from happening, like spills at the station. Stay with your car at all times while fueling instead of going into the store or sitting inside your vehicle!

Overfills often happen when the little lever on the pump handle isn’t functioning properly. When that happens, gas will flow out of your tank, onto the ground and into nearby storm drains. Also be careful not to accidently drive off with the hose!

If gas does accidently spill, don’t start your engine! Put the vehicle in neutral, move it away from any type of fuel before starting the engine and report it immediately to the facility operator.

If you get the impression that nothing is going to be done to address a spill, contact the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)  [800-541-2050].

Aging underground storage tank (UST) systems are critical to our infrastructure but can pose a serious environmental risk as they age and deteriorate.

Since USTs are buried underground, and some aging USTs are even abandoned, leaks from deteriorating storage tanks constitute a largely invisible risk.

There are over 21,000 active registered gas and diesel fuel tanks in the ground in Pennsylvania that allow us to run our cars, lawn mowers, boats, ATV’s, and more! It is crucial that these tanks are maintained and upgraded to prevent spills, leaks, and other accidents. 

The life span of a fiberglass UST is approximately 30-40 years, and properly maintained steel tanks can last even longer.

But, eventually, all tanks deteriorate: contact with soil can corrode steel tanks, and modern fuels like ethanol and biofuels can eat away at fiberglass tanks, causing them to chip, peel, and crack.

Over time, this can form a hole in the tank, allowing its contents to be released into the environment.

236 Releases A Year

Over the last four years, there have been an average of 236 confirmed fuel releases every year.

The DEP’s job is to oversee inspections and perform random site visits of facilities that use storage tanks to ensure that tanks are in good shape and safe for storing regulated substances, and to prevent releases from occurring in the first place.

The EPA states that leaking USTs have historically been one of the greatest threats to our groundwater, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the nation.

They also estimate that at least 25 percent of UST systems have the potential to leak or may be currently leaking.

Soil, groundwater and surface water contamination from a UST leak can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up.

Financial Assistance

DEP offers financial assistance to address regulated Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) though the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund (USTIF).

Information on other UST assistance programs is available through the Pollution Prevention Reimbursement Grant Program (Pump and Plug) and the Underground Heating Oil Tank Cleanup Reimbursement Program. 

Report A Spill

What can you do to help?

Upgrade old tank systems and report any leaks or spills immediately to the DEP by calling 800-541-2050 or go to the DEP website to Report an Incident so that we can protect our land, water, and air from pollution.

[Visit DEP’s Underground Storage Tank Program webpage for more information on this program.]

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

(Reprinted from DEP’s Our Common Wealth Blog.)

NewsClips:

-- Public News Service: Report: Oil And Gas Air Pollution Effects On Health Of Pennsylvanians 

-- TribLive: Protect PT Seeks Support For Proposed Ordinance Regulating Shale Gas Wells In Penn Twp., Westmoreland County; Meeting July 13

-- Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund: The Law Did Not Save Grant Township’s Water From PA General Energy Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well, The People Of Grant Did

-- StateImpactPA - Susan Phillips: New Sinkhole Forms [Again] Along Mariner East Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline In Chester County

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports PA Natural Gas Production Peaked In 4th Quarter 2021 [PaEN]

-- US Energy Information Administration: 2022 Appalachian Natural Gas Production Flat With Productivity Declines In Key Counties In PA

-- Bloomberg: Sweet Spot For Building New US LNG Natural Gas Projects Is Fading

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Have Biggest Weekly Loss Of The Year

-- Bloomberg: European Power Prices Fall Below Zero This Weekend With Green Power Boom 

PA Oil & Gas Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 8 to 14; Failed Shale Gas, Conventional Well Plugging; Leaking Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - July 15  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Risk Assessment Did Not Prove Chemicals Polluting Soil & Groundwater At American Refinery Group’s Bradford Petroleum Refinery Met Safe Environmental Cleanup Standards  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On CNX Midstream Project To Expose Natural Gas, Water/Wastewater Pipelines To Prevent Longwall Coal Mining Damage In Greene County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 60 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In July 15 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Secretary Negrin To Citizen Activists: ‘We Don’t Represent Chevron, We Don’t Represent Shell And I’ve Made That Absolutely Clear-- We’re Holding Those Leaders Accountable’  [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Do Oil & Gas Drillers Owe Taxpayers Royalties For Oil & Gas Under Roads, Streets, Bridges And Other Taxpayer-Owned Land?  [PaEN]

-- EQB No Longer Has Statutory Authority To Change Conventional Oil & Gas Well Bonding Amounts To Help Prevent 400 to 600 New Well Abandonments A Year; Adopts Proposed Changes To Water Quality Standards For Comment  [PaEN]

-- PA Eligible To Apply For $76.4 Million In Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Funding To Plug Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Conventional Operators Still Abandoning Wells  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts Draft Final Chapter 105 Environmental Assessment Alternatives Analysis; Will Discuss At Agricultural Advisory Board Meeting July 18  [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces July 13 Local Steering Committee Meeting For $5 Million Shell Petrochemical Plant Community Fund  [PaEN]

-- DEP Reminder Of July 25 Hearing On Proposed Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well In Clara Twp., Potter County

-- MethaneSAT-EDF Successfully Test Methane Detection Technology To Be Used To Document Methane Emissions From Onshore Natural Gas Production In North America  [PaEN]

-- DEP Blog: Do You Know What’s Below? Gasoline Stations And Aging Underground Storage Tanks In Pennsylvania [PaEN] 

[Posted: July 15, 2023]

7/17/2023