New Underground Storage Tank System - PUB2335

This fact sheet provides a brief description of the basic requirements for regulated underground storage tanks. This document is not designed to cover every requirement or facility. For specific questions concerning your facility or particular regulations, contact the Tanks Compliance and Technology Unit at 573-522-5665.

Registration

Owners and operators must submit a Underground Petroleum Storage Tank Registration, Form--MO 780-1782 within 30 days of bringing a tank into use. The form must be completed, signed and submitted any time the owner, operator, or information regarding the tank system changes, or by contacting the Tanks Section at 573-751-6822.

Registration fees are assessed on all underground storage tanks either currently in use or out of use at a rate of $15 per tank per year. These fees are paid on a five-year cycle. You will receive your initial invoice upon registration. 

Release Prevention

Spill catchment basins, or spill buckets, are required to prevent a release of product to the environment when the transfer hose is detached from the fill pipe. All spill buckets must be kept clean, empty and in good condition to function properly and to the fullest capacity. Drain valves must be operable to prevent routine drainage of water into the tank and to allow for drainage of product into the tank when opened.

Overfill devices are required to prevent a release of product to the environment during product delivery. Overfill devices should be routinely examined for tampering or malfunctions. If your facility is equipped with an automatic shutoff device (flapper or butterfly valve), it should remain functional at all times. Measuring sticks and other equipment should not impair activation.

Audible alarms should be loud enough to be heard outside by the delivery drivers. An alarm on the automatic tank gauge inside the store is not sufficient. If your underground storage tank system has a cathodic protection system, it must be inspected within six months of new installation or repair, and every three years thereafter. If an impressed current system is added to your tanks or piping, you must check the rectifier every 60 days making certain the system is still energized and functioning properly. Owners and operators must maintain cathodic protection testing, monitoring and repair (with associated testing) records.

Release Detection

Tanks must be monitored at least every 30 days for leaks. Acceptable tank release detection methods include:

• Automatic tank gauging – an electronic monitor that records tank information, including routine testing.
• Statistical inventory reconciliation (SIR).
• Interstitial monitoring – monitoring between the inner and outer wall of a double walled tank.
• Inventory control with tank tightness testing – only allowed for 10 years after installation.
• Manual tank gauging – only appropriate for some smaller tanks.
• Vapor monitoring.
• Groundwater monitoring.
• Pressurized piping must have an automatic line leak detector and it must be tested annually to ensure it is still functioning properly. A second method of piping leak detection capable of detecting an even smaller leak is also required. This secondary method can be:
  • An annual 0.1 gallon/hour line tightness test.
  • An electronic 0.2 gallon/hour monthly piping test.
  • Interstitial monitoring.
  • Vapor or groundwater monitoring along piping.

Suction piping may require a line tightness test at least every three years, routine monitoring or may be exempt from monitoring, depending on piping configuration. All equipment must be operated in accordance with the current National Workgroup on Leak Detection Evaluation’s (NWGLDE) certificate. These certificates are available from NWGLDE’s website. Owners and operators must maintain release detection records for at least the previous 12 months. Owners and operators must investigate any indications of possible releases. Suspected releases must be reported to the Department’s Environmental Emergency Response Hotline at 573-634-2436 within 24 hours.

Financial Responsibility

Owners or operators must maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount and form sufficient for taking corrective action and compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by releases arising from the operation of an underground storage tank.

This can be accomplished through the following (either singly or in combination):

• The Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund.
• A financial test of self-insurance.
• Private insurance.
• Letter of credit.
• Trust fund.
• Surety bond.
• Guarantee.
• Standby trust fund.

You may access the Missouri Code of State Regulations, Title 10, Department of Natural Resources, Division 26, Chapter 3. For questions concerning the financial responsibility requirements, call 573-522-5665. Contact the Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund at 800-765-2765.

For More Information

Additional information on compliance is available on the department’s website.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Remediation Program
Tanks Section
Compliance and Technology Unit
PO Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176
573-522-5665
tanks-compliance@dnr.mo.gov