DES MOINES, IA ? Iowa officials and gas station operators are trying to resolve "lingering issues" related to leaky underground storage tank cleanups, reports the WCFCourier.com.
While both sides agree that the federally mandated effort that began 20 years ago has been one of Iowa's most successful environmental programs, nearly 1,400 sites ? including 750 considered high risk ? still need clean-up measures or monitoring, and will be the most expensive to address.
?I?m optimistic that we?re going to come up with some strategies that will get significant numbers of those sites moved more quickly,? said Tim Hall, bureau chief for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) geological and water survey bureau. ?The devil?s always in the details.?
At issues is the need to protect people, water supplies, and soil from contamination while providing "closure" to property owners who have repaired, replaced, or taken other action to address faulty underground storage tanks.
?The things we?re concerned with are public health and environmental risk,? said Elaine Douskey, who supervises the DNR?s underground storage tank program.
A one-cent-per-gallon state tax has been dedicated to the prevention, monitoring, and clean-up effort, scheduled to "sunset" in June 2016. DNR officials, tank owners, petroleum marketers, and the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Board have been working to establish goals aimed at reducing the remaining contaminated sites while there are adequate resources to deal with the backlog.
To date, nearly $250 million has been spent for testing and remediation of Iowa's contaminated sites, according to Scott Scheidel, Iowa?s underground storage tank fund administrator.
A 1988 federal law imposed responsibility upon owners and operators of underground storage tanks. Because private insurance was unavailable at that time, Iowa passed a 1989 act that created a fund to help owners and operators who have to comply with EPA standards.
?At the time that we did it, it was the largest public works expenditure in the history of the state,? said Sen. Jack Hatch.
Jeff Hove, vice president of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, said the program has been effective from an environmental standpoint, but he said that ongoing monitoring and over-regulation of low risk sites or those not in need of further action should end, in order to provide certainty to the industry.
"Our overall concern with our UST regulators is their insistence on generating new rules that go well beyond what is required by the EPA," Hove said. "These rules will directly impact Iowa?s most rural communities and do the exact opposite of what the fund was established for, 'to assure Iowa?s rural fuel supply network' and cleanup contaminated sites. Our industry is shrinking every day. Especially our small rural businesses that may be the only source of fuel in a community."
Additionally, Hove said that he is opposed to a recommendation to eliminate the UST board and administrator and redirect their funds to DNR officials who some propose should administer the program in the future.
"[W]e do not believe transferring our LUST Funds into the hands of a government agency will save money nor will it expedite closures on our remaining LUST sites," Hove said. "Our UST Fund Administrator?s office creates a good checks-and-balance with our DNR and allows for transparent fiscal responsibility. A concept that seems to get lost in government offices. We have all seen the bankrupt funds created at the hands of other states which believed they could manage better."
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