Underground Storage Tanks

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implements the underground storage tank (UST) program in Indian Country. The EPA provides support to tribal governments to prevent and clean up petroleum releases from USTs. The Oglala Sioux Tribe receives UST program support and funds from the EPA in order to improve human health and the environment on our tribal lands by working on the following goals:

• Educate owners and operators of USTs on safety and compliance with federal UST regulations
• Prevent releases from USTs
• Ensure releases are cleaned up and public health impact minimized
• Collaborate and strengthen the relationship among OSTEPP, the EPA, and local owners and operators

The OST Underground Storage Tank program works with marketers and non-retail facilities that have USTs. Marketers include retail facilities such as gas stations and convenience stores that sell petroleum products. Non-retail facilities include those that do not sell petroleum products, but may rely on their own supply of gasoline or diesel for taxis, buses, limousines, trucks, vans, boats, heavy equipment, or a wide range of other vehicles. For more information on the EPA’s UST program in Indian Country, see Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) Program in Indian Country

Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Trust Fund

In 1986, Congress created the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund to address petroleum releases from federally regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) by amending Subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. In 2005, the Energy Policy Act expanded eligible uses of the Trust Fund to include certain leak prevention activities. The LUST Trust Fund provides money to:

• Oversee cleanups of petroleum releases by responsible parties;
• Enforce cleanups by recalcitrant parties;
• Pay for cleanups at sites where the owner or operator is unknown, unwilling, or unable to respond, or which require emergency action; and
• Conduct inspections and other release prevention activities.