Privacy Statement

CLOSING AN UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK

Colorado's Petroleum Storage Tank Regulations require permanent closure of any underground storage tank that has been out of service for more than 12 months. (See Tank Closure Instructions) The Division of Oil and Public Safety must be notified at least 10 days before the closure date, but preferably not more than 30 days before closure. The tank must be emptied and cleaned, and an assessment must be performed to determine whether contamination is present at the UST site. If contamination is detected, it must be reported, investigated and, if necessary, cleaned up. Pertinent regulations (7 C.C.R. 1101-14) include:

2-5-2(a)             Notice
2-5-2(b)             Emptying and cleaning tank prior to closure
2-5-2(b)             Closure methods
2-5-3                 Site assessment
4-1; 4-4(a)         Release reporting
4-3                    Release investigating
5-1; 5-2; 5-3      Remediation, or cleanup, or contamination

Exceptions

Certain persons are not required to close out-of-service underground storage tanks:

When the tank is abandoned: A tank that the current tank owner, tank operator, or property owner did not install, has never operated or leased to another for operation, and had no reason to know was present on the site at the time of site acquisition. 8-20.5-101(1) CRS

When the tank is an orphan: A tank whose owner cannot be identified or a tank that is no longer in use, was not properly closed according to current regulations, and is located on property that is no longer used to dispense fuels and that changed ownership before 12/22/88. 8-20.5-101(9) CRS

When the owner of the site is not the owner of the tank, as defined by statute: This applies when a UST was last used before 11/8/84 by a prior owner or when the site owner is a lender. 8-20.5-101(10) CRS

When the tank was last used before 12/22/88 by the current or a previous owner, provided the tank was emptied of petroleum product when taken out of service and there is no evidence of petroleum contamination at the site. However, if this option is selected, and contamination is discovered at a later date, the cost to assess and clean up that contamination would not be reimbursed by the Petroleum Storage Tank Fund because the tank would be considered to be closed in place before 12/22/88. [Expenses related to tanks closed in place or pulled before December 22, 1988 are ineligible for the fund.@ 7 C.C.R. 1101-14, 8-1(f)(4)]

When the tank is not a regulated UST as defined by Colorado statute and/or regulation. Examples are heating oil tanks, tanks with capacity of 110 gallons or less, and non-commercial farm/residential tanks of 1,100 gallons or less

Note #1: Persons who fall under one of the foregoing categories and choose not to perform further closure activities should file an Affidavit of Tank Closure with the Division of Oil and Public Safety. Request the Affidavit of Tank Closure form by e-mail (oil.publicsafety@state.co.us) or telephone (303-318-8517).

Note #2: Persons in any of the first four preceding categories have the option of voluntarily closing the UST(s) according to current regulations. If no contamination is discovered, the Division of Oil and Public Safety will issue a closure (no further action required) letter for the site. If contamination is discovered, the tank owner may be eligible for reimbursement of assessment and cleanup costs.

For more information on the Petroleum Storage Tank Fund call 303-318-8513 or
send an e-mail request to:  oil.publicsafety@state.co.us