California UST Program Update
and
Low-Threat UST Case Closure Policy (LTCP)
Victoria Whitney
Deputy Director for Water Quality
State Water Resources Control Board
CA UST Cleanup Regulatory Structure
• State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board)– Statewide legislative and policy development
– Set budgets for Local Agencies and Regional Water Boards
– Adjudicate appeals of Local Agency and Regional Water Board actions
– Administer UST Cleanup Fund and EPA federal UST grant• State Cleanup Fund $300 million / yr (99%)
• Federal EPA UST grant $3 million / yr (1%)
• Local Agencies and Regional Water Board Offices– 9 Regional Water Boards and 22 Local Agencies
– Implement the regulatory aspects of the program
– Interface with property owners directly
– Open and close cleanup cases
CA UST Program Statistics
• 6100 total open cleanup cases
• Most cases are old (over 15yrs), yet
still in site assessment
• Approx. 900 cases/yr are closed
• 6100/900 = 7 years left in program?
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
Cases
Fiscal Year*
UST Cleanup Cases
New Cases Open Cases Total Cases
Closed
Cases
Open
Cases
Cleanup Fund Sunset Date
Projected Data Current
Data
AB 2222 Report - Two or More Detections Above MCL in Active
Municipal Wells (2002 -2010)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
587
451
333
179 168159157
11879
52 36 24 12 9 9 7 6 6 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Nu
mb
er
of
We
lls
Naturally Occurring
Anthropogenic
Benzene MTBE
Structure of the Low-Threat Closure Policy
In order to qualify for low-threat UST case closure using this Policy:
• A site must satisfy all of the General Criteria, and
• A site must also satisfy the Media-Specific Criteria for
Groundwater, Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air, and Direct Contact
and Outdoor Air Exposure by either:
– Meeting the ‘Tier One Criteria’
(Classes, Scenarios/Appendix 1-4, Table 1); or
– A Site-Specific Assessment/Analysis; or
– Controlling Exposure; or
– Qualifying for an Exception
• Notification Requirements, Monitoring Well Destruction
Requirement, and Waste Removal Requirement
LTCP General Criteria
General criteria that must be satisfied by all candidate sites:
1. The unauthorized release is located within the service area of public
water system;
2. The unauthorized release consists only of petroleum;
3. The unauthorized (“primary”) release from the UST system has been
stopped;
4. Free product has been removed to the maximum extent practicable;
5. A conceptual site model that assesses the nature, extent, and
mobility of the release has been developed;
6. Secondary source has been removed to the extent practicable;
7. Soil or groundwater has been tested for MTBE and results reported
in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 25296.15;
8. Nuisance as defined by Water Code section 13050 does not exist at
the site.
GW Plume Classes
Summary of Soil Screening Levels
Vapor Intrusion - Scenario 1
LTCP Implementation
• LTCP has been in effect for 1 year (August 2012)
• Each agency reviewed all of their cases to determine if
the LTCP closure criteria were met
• 1400 cases (25%) met the LTCP Criteria with existing data
• Roughly 50% of cases seem to be stuck in the regulatory
process
– No RP, no funding, etc.
• A path to closure will be developed for each case
Summary
• The UST cleanup program, as we know it, will be winding down over the next few years
• The likely sunset of our cleanup fund means that the remaining UST cleanup cases will be more dependent on the federal grant than in previous years
• We need to work on stuck cases to prevent a legacy of brownfield sites
• Other water quality issues are more pressing than petroleum
For More Information
• Low Threat Closure Policy:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_decisi
ons/adopted_orders/resolutions/2012/rs2012
_0016atta.pdf
• UST Program Page:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues
/programs/ust/
Contact Information
Kevin Graves, UST Program Manager
(916) 341-5782
Shahla Farahnak, Groundwater Branch Chief
(916) 341-5737
Victoria Whitney, Deputy Director for Water Quality
(916) 341-5568