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An Education in Partnership Possibilities:Arizona’s School-Owned UST Project

Status Update – April 2018

Welcome to Arizona

“Arizona is every kind of country...” Zane Grey, Valley of Wild Horses

“By working together, we can make Arizona a place where everyone has an opportunity for a better life.”

- Governor Doug Ducey

“Arizona is every kind of country...” Zane Grey, Valley of Wild Horses

About ADEQ

We administer the state’s environmental laws and delegated federal programs to prevent air, water and land pollution and ensure cleanup of contamination.

ADEQ and Arizona Schools

Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)

The purpose of ADEQ’s UST program is to protect public health and the environment from releases of petroleum and other regulated hazardous substances into groundwater, surface water or soils.

We believe that improving our understanding of Arizona’s UST infrastructure and potential effects of emerging fuel blends will allow us to better serve our customers with:

o Leak prevention

o Leak detection

o Cleanup actions

Contamination

ADEQ’s UST Program and Arizona Schools

ADEQ’s UST program has supported our schools for decades through school compliance and cleanup initiatives using both state and federal funding.

Our school-owned UST internal inspection project provides a unique opportunity for us to work with our schools to learn about potential:

• Problems with their UST systems and their fuel product• Environmental health risks • Opportunities for technical and funding assistance

Additionally, the subset of school-owned tanks is generally representative of the UST infrastructure across the state.

Why is an Internal Inspection Important?

Internal Inspections Using a Camera

1973.

EPA’s 2016 “Corrosion Report”

“EPA recommends that owners of underground storage tank (UST) systems storing diesel fuel check inside their tanks for corrosion, which research suggests is now appearing on equipment in most tank systems storing diesel fuel.”

EPA conducted internal inspections on 42 operating USTs storing diesel fuel. 83% exhibited moderate to severe corrosion, though less than 25% of the USTs reported corrosion prior to the internal inspection.

Short Term Project Goals:

• Reach out to the schools.

• Identify data collection opportunities (tank details, fuel type and other factors that may prove useful for evaluating results).

• Obtain management support and develop a contract for the work.

• Identify partnership opportunities.

COLLECT DATA

Potential Participants: AZ School-Owned Tanks

Partnership Opportunities

The internal inspection process

The internal inspection process

Tank Grading Scale

For this project, Tanknology worked with ADEQ to provide general grades reflecting the observed condition of the tank.

What are We Finding?

Currently, 79 tanks have been inspected:48 with diesel 31 with gasoline

6 – Asphalt-coated or bare steel (Steel)7 – Composite [Steel/Fiberglass]66 – Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP)

Construction A B C D E

Steel 5 1

Composite 5 2

FRP 2 46 10 7 1

Tank Score

Fuel Type A B C D E

Gasoline 48% 29% 23%

Diesel 4% 86% 8% 2%

Tank Score

Average “age” of school-owned tanks is approximately 28 years since installation. The average of all AZ tanks is approximately 23 years since installation.

Unleaded Steel Tank – Installed 1973 (Rating B)

Unleaded Composite Tank – Installed 1994 (Rating B)

Diesel Steel Tank – Installed 1986 (Rating B)

Diesel Steel Tank – Installed 1994 (Rating C)

Unleaded Steel Tank – Installed 1983 (Rating C)

Diesel FRP – Installed 1997 (Rating A)

Diesel FRP – Installed 1991 (Rating B)

Unleaded FRP – Installed 1983 (Rating B)

Diesel FRP - Installed 1990 (Rating B)

Diesel FRP – Installed 1988 (Rating B)

Diesel FRP – Installed 1990 (Rating B/C)

Diesel FRP - Installed 1985 (Rating C)

Unleaded FRP – Installed 1989 (Rating D)

Unleaded FRP – Installed 1985 (Rating D)

Unleaded FRP – Installed 1991 (Rating D)

Next Actions

Long-Term Project Goals:

• Develop a better understanding of what is occurring inside Arizona’s USTs.

• Evaluate potential relationships between environmental, tank, fuel and other characteristics on our tank systems.

• Evaluate whether there is a relationship between the internal inspection findings and structural integrity of the tank.

• Create a tool that will allow ADEQ to share information about findings to all Arizona UST owners and operators.

• Improve compliance rates through information sharing.

• Develop messaging to effectively promote system upgrades and installation of new systems, improving our future UST infrastructure.

Tara RosiePrincipal Scientist

E-mail: tr1@azdeq.govPhone: 602-771-47125