The Beginning of the UST Program

In 1984, Congress responded to the increasing threat and risks associated with UST releases by amending the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) and adding Subtitle I. Subtitle I required the EPA to develop comprehensive regulatory guidelines for state delegated UST programs. Congress also directed the EPA to publish regulations that would require owners and operators of USTs to prevent, detect and clean-up releases. Key components of the legislation require correct installation, leak detection, spill/overfill protection, corrosion protection and financial responsibility for the cost of cleaning up leaks. Significant deadlines included having a leak detection method by 1993, spill/overfill protection, corrosion protection and financial responsibility by 1998 (EPA Document 510-K-95-002).

A major failure of the RCRA legislation was that Indian Tribes and tribal trust lands were not addressed. Thus, the EPA did not maintain any type of environmental regulatory oversight or management for USTs on tribal lands. The failure was further compounded because the states lacked the authority to implement their UST regulatory programs on tribal trust lands. The result was that Indian Tribes received no UST technical assistance, training, compliance inspections, assessments or remediation for the USTs they managed and operated.

By the time the EPA approached the OES in 1996, the 1993 federal UST regulation deadline requiring a leak detection method was three years past.  In 1996, ITEC was provided with an EPA registration list of tribal USTs. The registration list identified 15 of the 31 ITEC member tribes as managing USTs.  EPA/ITEC compliance inspections in October/November of 1996 identified 14 ITEC member tribes managing USTs as being out of compliance with the 1993 and 1998 requirements. Furthermore, three tribes were either remediating UST releases or were in need of remediation and two UST sites were improperly closed. It was impossible to determine if the member tribes out of compliance had releases because there were no implemented leak detection methods being used.

When ITEC was approached by the EPA/UST Program to develop and establish an ITEC/UST Program for fiscal year 1996 because the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's State/UST Program regulations and enforcement capabilities did not apply to USTs identified on tribal trust lands. EPA, Region VI, UST registration records indicated that approximately 16 of the 30 ITEC member tribes owned or managed 52 USTs in Oklahoma. In addition, there were a number of identified Bureau of Indian Affair's (BIA) and Indian Health Service's (HIS) USTs on tribal trust lands. These USTs represented a significant number of un-regulated and un-managed USTs. Thus, there was an inherent need to develop and establish a Tribal UST Program which addressed USTs on tribal trust lands in Oklahoma.

The UST grant objectives began with the following objectives:

1.      Program Development - Coordinate administrative, management and staff functions to maintain a UST Program according to EPA guidelines. Facilitate the functions of the UST notification program to ensure that UST’s owned or operated by ITEC member tribes, or privately owned facilities located on tribal lands, are properly registered. Maintain fiscal responsibility and accountability of funds allocated to support this program.

2.       Response System - Provide an appropriate response to any request for technical assistance, site visit or investigation relating to financial responsibility, leak detection, installations, removals and upgrades or Tribal lands.

3.        UST Upgrades, Removals, and Investigation Oversight - Determine Tribal upgrade or removal needs and obtain or recommend contractors for that service as appropriate. Provide oversight of upgrades/removals as requested by tribes.

3.        Educational Outreach and Training - Establish UST technical and operational management needs for ITEC staff and the 32 member Tribes and distribute outreach material to UST owner/operators.

4.        Reporting and Program Appraisal - Prepare EPA quarterly activity reports in a timely manner. Participate in EPA’s formal process to examine the performance of the ITEC UST Program in a comprehensive End-of-Year Review. Update the ITEC QMP and QAPP on an annual basis.

In 1998 and 1999 ITEC received funding from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to upgrade and remove tribally owned UST systems. As a result, 11 tribes participated receiving approximately $355,000.00 for 14 different locations.

In February of 2000 ITEC submitted a multi-tribal grant application to the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) to acquire funding for underground storage tank UST monitoring equipment, removals, and upgrades. ITEC received approximately $177,000.00 to complete this project. Fifteen tribes participated in the grant opportunity, which gave the tribes the capacity to monitor their own tanks by utilizing portable monitoring equipment. This equipment also has the capability to monitor for other contaminants and will complement any environmental office. Funds were also used to remove abandoned tanks from Tribal lands and upgrade existing tanks to EPA’s UST requirements. ITEC began Owner/Operator training through these funds.

ITEC developed a UST Certification Program for owners and operators of tribally owned UST systems. This one-day course covers all requirements needed to properly operate a UST system and will be held on a regular basis. The program was developed by the end of the summer of 2001.