If you own or are maybe considering purchasing a convenience store and adding the sale of vehicle fuel, you will need a fuel system with underground storage tanks. You may want to install an underground storage tank for your home heating oil, or other petroleum products. You need to consider the risk and exposure to pollution and become familiar with government regulations.
Underground storage tanks (UST) used for petroleum products must be installed according to EPA regulations. Much of our environment has been polluted over the years due to leaking USTs and should be a concern for all of us.
There are several types of tanks, however there are two basic types of underground storage tanks. One is steel with an overwrap of a filament winding like fiberglass, carbon fiber, or a plastic compound around the metal cylinder for corrosion protection. Also very popular are tanks made from composite material such as fiberglass/aramid or carbon fiber with a polymer liner (thermoplastic).
USTs, used to store petroleum, are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent release of petroleum and contamination of groundwater. Prior to 1980 consisted of bare steel pipes, which corroded over time and eventually resulted in leakage.
In 1984 Congress developed laws to minimize and prevent environmental damage, by charging owners with the task of verifying, maintaining and, if necessary, cleaning up sites damaged by petroleum contamination.
Many thousands of old underground tanks were replaced with newer tanks made of corrosion resistant materials such as fiberglass with a double walled lining to catch leaks from the inner tanks and equipped with leak detection sensors.
In 1988, the EPA published stringent UST regulation requiring all operators to upgrade USTs with spill prevention and leak detection equipment. This program is generally considered to have been very successful. Not included are farm or residential tanks of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes or tanks used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on the premises, also septic tanks.
