Governor Signs Single-Walled Underground Storage Tank Provisions Bill

October 21st, 2014 by Fiedler Group

In September 2014, California Governor, Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill No. 445 (SB445). The bill, written by Senate Member Jerry Hill and endorsed by the California Water Board is an urgent statute intended to take effect immediately.

For single-walled underground storage tanks (USTs) designed and constructed before 1997 in accordance with paragraph (7) of section 25291(a) of the California Health & Safety Code, or for USTs constructed before 1984 not meeting the requirements outlined in section 25291(a)(1)-(6), the owner or operator of the facility must take permanent closure action in accordance with SB445 on or before December 31, 2025.

What’s more, the California State Water board may choose to accelerate the requirement to implement section 25292.05(a) if the UST poses a significant threat to water quality or public health.

For those small businesses needing to permanently close single-walled USTs, grant and loan money will be made available through the state’s Replacing, Removing, or Upgrading Underground Storage Tank (RUST) Program.

Detailed information pertaining to the single-walled UST permanent closure and RUST Program will be made available through each program’s Lyris Email Distribution System, as well as each program’s website.