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Home » FAQs |
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FAQs I suspect some contamination on my property. Am I required to take some type of action? Who is responsible for a leaking Underground Storage Tank (UST) on my property? As a prospective purchaser of a property, my due diligence investigation discovered contamination from a leaking tank. Since it appears the owner does not intend to report it, do I have any reporting obligation? I removed my tanks and received a letter from the County Health Department requiring me to conduct an investigation of possible contamination. How does the process work? Does Kahl offer assistance? How far does a release from an underground storage tank (UST) travel? What is MtBE and why has it been a focus of concern? What is the UST Cleanup Fund? I have a large parking lot. Do I need an oil/water separator for stormwater? What size clarifier would I need for my site? I will be leasing an industrial property for my business. As a tenant, should I be concerned about inheriting environmental liabilities from previous tenants? I have an office employee that claims to feel sick only when she is in her office. She thinks we have an indoor air quality problem. How do I resolve this problem? Q: I suspect some contamination on my property. Am I required to take some type of action? A: The California Water Code (Sections 13304 through 3305), and the California Health & Safety Code (Sections 25187-25189) require those responsible for the release of a hazardous substance to take all necessary corrective actions to remedy (clean up) the release. At a minimum, you may have an immediate reporting requirement and possibly an assessment or cleanup obligation. You can contact a specialist at Kahl Environmental Services for a free initial consultation about your particular issue. Q: Who is responsible for a leaking Underground Storage Tank (UST) on my property? A: The answer depends on whether the UST was used for petroleum or other substances, when the leak was discovered, and whether the tank owner/operator can be identified. For a release of petroleum from a UST located in California, the short answer is; the tank owner or operator at the time of leak discovery. If the responsible party is not the current owner of the property and has no resources to deal with the release, the current property owner may be held liable. Q: As a prospective purchaser of a property, my due diligence investigation discovered contamination from a leaking tank. Since it appears the owner does not intend to report it, do I have any reporting obligation? A: According to the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Health & Safety Code imposes a leak reporting responsibility on the UST Owner/Operator. This law does not require a potential purchaser of a site to report a leak. Q: I removed my tanks and received a letter from the County Health Department requiring me to conduct an investigation of possible contamination. How does the process work? Does Kahl offer assistance? A: If you received a directive to investigate the extent of a UST release, you will need to submit a workplan outlining some initial investigation work. Because this highly regulated process requires an understanding of UST regulations, and a background in geology and chemistry, the owner usually retains a qualified consultant to assist them. In addition, the field investigation must be completed under the oversight of a professional that has been registered by the State. This typically includes registered geologists, hydrogeologists, and/or engineers. Kahl Environmental has in-house registered professionals with many years of experience in this area. KES offers a free initial consultation to review your particular situation. Most of our clients choose to have KES handle the entire process from permitting and field services, to regulatory communication and reporting. KES also provides assistance with obtaining cost reimbursement from the State through the UST Cleanup Fund. The process: The corrective action process takes on many forms and complexities depending on various factors. In general, the responsible party (RP) must first assess the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination in the subsurface and if possible communicate (in a report) the relative extent of impacts to the local enforcement agency. The local enforcement agency for UST releases is typically the local health department, water district or fire department. The State Regional Water Quality Control Board may also get involved where groundwater contamination is discovered. The investigation or "assessment" phase can require multiple phases of work depending on the severity of the release and the complexity of the site. If, in the opinion of the local enforcement agency, the nature and extent of contamination represents a threat to the public health or the environment, you may be directed to clean up your site. The cleanup or "remediation" process requires the development of a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The CAP includes a review of site conditions, evaluates at least three remedial alternatives, proposes cleanup goals, and specifies a recommended scope of work for remediation. KES can provide assistance with all phases of corrective action from tank removal through cleanup and closure. Q: How far does a release from an underground storage tank (UST) travel? A: The size of the release, soil conditions, and depth to groundwater are some of the major factors that determine whether a release will travel away from the immediate area of the release from a UST system. Generally, if the release is small and doesn't affect groundwater, there is little chance of "offsite migration." For larger releases, and where groundwater contamination is significant, the threat of off-site migration increases. According to a study by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the average distance that a large UST release migrates is about 200 feet from the source. Although rare, pollution from petroleum hydrocarbon releases has migrated over 1,000 feet from the UST. Gasoline additives, such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MtBE) may migrate considerable distances in groundwater and may impact wells located miles downgradient. Q: What is MtBE and why has it been a focus of concern? A: MtBE is methyl-tertiary-butyl ether. It is a highly volatile liquid chemical which is added as an oxygenate to reformulated gasoline at a concentration of roughly 2-12%. MtBE has been used in gasoline in the United States since the late 1970's when lead was phased out as an anti-knock agent. It has a relatively high solubility of 4.8 grams per 100 grams of water at room temperature and is also known to have a disagreeable taste and odor even at low concentrations. Gasoline which contains MtBE and other petroleum products can impact groundwater as a result of leaking USTs or spills. Since MtBE is more soluble in water than most other constituents in gasoline it can move more quickly in the environment and at times extend well downgradient of the other constituents. For this reason, it has been found as a contaminant in drinking water supply wells throughout the state. The State DHS drinking water standard (MCL) for MTBE is 0.013 milligram per liter (mg/L), or 13 micrograms per liter (µg/L) (22 CCR §64444). Q: What is the UST Cleanup Fund? A: The Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund is a reimbursement program established in California for owners and operators of underground storage tanks that have leaked. The program assist with the costs of investigating and cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater caused by leaking petroleum tanks. The Fund also provides coverage for third-party liability due to releases. The Fund is generated through a per gallon fuel storage fee paid by all current UST owners. This fee, which began on January 1, 1991, is generating in excess of $170 million annually. To be eligible to file a claim against the Fund, a person must be a current or past owner or operator of a petroleum underground storage tank which has released petroleum and which is subject to state regulation. Owners of small home heating oil tanks which have released petroleum are also eligible. Other eligibility conditions include compliance with applicable state permit requirements and regulatory agency cleanup orders. The maximum recovery is $1.5 million for each "occurrence." In addition, the Fund will pay up to $3,000 for regulatory technical assistance (RTA) to prepare applications, pre-approvals, and other submittal documents. The following is a brief summary of the process:
A: Large parking lots can accumulate oil, trash, and sediment. Federal and State stormwater regulations now require property owners to implement best management practices (BMPs) to reduce pollutant loading in their runoff. Multi-staged clarifiers or oil/water separators are a good tool for managing stormwater runoff from parking lots. If these systems are sized properly and receive regular maintenance, they are usually adequate BMPs to ensure compliance. These systems can also be fit with secondary skimmers and absorbent products to remove fuel sheen from the water. Q: What size clarifier would I need for my site? A: Clarifiers or oil/water separators for commercial/ industrial processes must be sized on a case-by- case basis according to site surface area and wastewater characteristics. Clarifiers installed for parking areas and garages are usually sized according to10-minute peak flow guidelines. Typically a minimum capacity of 750 gallons is required for small gas stations, auto repairs, and light commercial sites; 1500 gallon capacity for larger scale truck washing and steam cleaning facilities. Contact our construction division for further information or assistance. Q: I will be leasing an industrial property for my business. As a tenant, should I be concerned about inheriting environmental liabilities from previous tenants? A: It is not uncommon for a landlord to place the blame of environmental problems on the most recent tenant especially if their operations appear to be a potential source for the problem. Often an environmental impact has historical contributions from various tenants. For example, we commonly see very old sumps or clarifiers that were designed to remove oil and debris from discharges but have long since lost their integrity and are leaking into the subsurface. Four or five past industrial tenants may have each used the sump for their operations and might have used it as a convenient means of disposing of wastes. One helpful due diligence tool we offer tenants and landlords is the Site Photo-Documentation Assessment. KES conducts post- and pre-lease inspections of a property whereby site conditions are well documented using digital photography. This tool is an inexpensive way of documenting tenant impacts to the site. The assessment can also include recommendations for upgrades or mitigation as appropriate. As a prospective tenant, you could request that a sump be replaced or that an oil-stained storage area be mitigated prior to your occupation of the site. Alternatively, a landlord may perform the assessment to document that the area in question was left clean, intact, etc. Of course, subgrade systems such as underground tanks may require sample collection and testing to document impacts from operations. Q: I have an office employee that claims to feel sick only when she is in her office. She thinks we have an indoor air quality problem. How do I resolve this problem? A: These issues are not always resolvable because a sickness can be induced by an environmental cause or be entirely psychological. KES offers various indoor air quality studies that will assist an employer in their search for an environmental cause. If your building has any areas with moisture problems or has had water damage, you might have toxic molds present. Such molds are easy to detect. The affliction could also be a reaction to dust mites or pollen. Furthermore, some people are sensitive to low concentrations of volatile chemicals present in newer carpets and paints. Most of these causes can be identified or ruled out through sampling and testing. Contact KES for an initial consultation to determine what approach is best for your facility. |
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