As of September 25th, 2014, the California Senate voted that by December 31st, 2025,
“All regulated USTs that do not meet the requirements of H&SC, section 25291(a)(1)-(6), must be permanently closed on or before December 31, 2025 in accordance with H&SC, section 25298, and the California Code of Regulations, title 23, chapter 16 (UST Regulations), section 2672.”[1]
And for further clarification on a single-walled UST,
“A single-walled UST is either the tank and/or the connected piping which do not have secondary containment and a continuous leak detection system meeting the requirements of H&SC, section 25291(a)(1)-(6). UST Systems which do not have secondary containment and a continuous leak detection system that have not been permanently closed by the regulatory due date are out of compliance, cannot be operated, and could be red tagged by the Unified Program Agency (UPA) or the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), preventing fuel deliveries and dispensing.”[2]
Having to remove underground storage tanks is no simple task and can become very costly very quick. The deadline to remove the applicable underground storage tanks is coming soon and many are already arranging to replace their existing systems. The California Waterboard states that fines for not adhering to Senate Bill 445 (Stats. 2104, Ch. 547) are anywhere between $500 a day to $5000 once the December 31st, 2025 deadline passes. While the deadline is less than three years away, there is plenty of time and opportunity to take care of your single-walled underground storage tanks. California offers low interest loans under the RUST program for removing and replacing tanks, and Balch Petroleum has experience contracting for customers who have used these loans.[3]
There are over 1800 single-walled underground storage tanks in the state of California at the time of this article and all of them will need to be removed or face daily fines for continued operation. If you are unsure whether your underground storage tanks are applicable under Senate Bill 445 (Stats. 2104, Ch. 547), then you can visit your facility's California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) portal to find out more information. If you are operating one of these tanks and are planning on removing them, contact Balch Petroleum for your Underground Storage Tank contracting needs.