EPA Awards State of Arkansas Over $535,000 to Prevent Leaks from Underground Storage Tanks

EPA Awards State of Arkansas Over $535,000 to Prevent Leaks from Underground Storage Tanks

Media contacts: Joe Hubbard or Jennah Durant, [email protected] or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Oct 21, 2020) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) a grant for $536,673 to support the state’s leaking underground storage tank program. The funds will go toward corrective action costs and expenses required to address accidental releases and other program activities.

“At EPA, access to safe, reliable drinking water is a top priority,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “This grant will fund ADEQ’s important work in protecting groundwater and working to stop leaks from underground storage tanks that can pollute aquifers and drinking water sources.”

This agreement supports ADEQ in developing, implementing and maintaining an effective leaking underground storage tank (UST) program, making progress in cleaning up petroleum leaks by starting and finishing cleanups, and reducing the backlog of sites not yet cleaned up.

A UST is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10% of its combined volume underground. Until the mid-1980s, most USTs were made of bare steel, which is likely to corrode over time and allow UST contents to leak. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking UST is that the petroleum or other hazardous substance can seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater–the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. A leaking UST can present other health and environmental risks, including the potential for fire and explosion.

For more about underground storage tanks: https://www.epa.gov/ust

For more about EPA’s work in Arkansas: https://www.epa.gov/ar

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About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central   

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