The Tanks Unit within Environmental Enforcement is comprised of Corrective Action and Prevention staff. There are four groups within the Tanks Unit.
Prevention Unit
AST: Aboveground Storage Tanks
AST or “tank” means a device made to contain an accumulation of more than one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) gallons of fluids that are liquid at standard temperature and pressure, which is constructed primarily of nonearthen materials, including concrete, steel, plastic or fiberglass reinforced plastic, which provide structural support, more than ninety (90) percent of the capacity of which is above the surface of the ground, and includes all ancillary pipes and dispensing systems up to the first point of isolation. The term includes stationary devices which are permanently affixed and mobile devices which remain in one location on a continuous basis for three hundred sixty five (365) or more days.
Senate Bill 373, containing the Aboveground Storage Tank Act §22-30 and the Public Water Supply Protection Act §22-31 was approved by the 2014 Legislature and signed into law by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin on April 1, 2014. The law officially took effect on June 6, 2014. The bill required an inventory and registration of aboveground storage tanks, the submittal of spill prevention response plans, and certified inspections of tanks.
UST: Underground Storage Tanks
The purpose of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Section is to regulate underground storage tanks that contain petroleum or hazardous substances to determine compliance with state rules and federal regulations. West Virginia has had full program approval from EPA since February 1988.
The services and guidance provided by the UST unit include: Tank Inspection, Tank Closures, Tank Installation/upgrades, Receive notification forms, register USTs and receive proof of financial responsibility, Maintain database and files of registered USTs, Collect annual registration fees for UST and Leaking Underground Storage Tanks, Issue certificates to facilities that have paid their fees, and Write and file revisions to the current rules and attend legislative committee meetings as required.
Corrective Action Unit
LAST: Leaking Aboveground Storage Tanks
All Aboveground Storage Tank owners and operators are mandated by law (47 CSR 63) to report Confirmed, Suspected, or Threatened Releases as stated in Section 6.2 to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Emergency Spill Line at: 1-800-642-3074
LUST: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
The WV DEP became the lead agency for administering the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authorization in September 1997. Since then, the WV DEP has overseen the cleanup of released regulated substances, primarily petroleum products. Such releases can originate from overfilling, spilling, or leaking tanks and piping.