March 26, 2004—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just released a new report showing how EPA, state and tribal agencies, and industry have worked together over the past two decades to protect America’s soil and groundwater from leaking petroleum tanks.
The report highlights that since 1984, these partnerships have resulted in:
- the closing of 1.5 million unsafe tanks, leaving a population of 700,000 active tanks, all of which have been upgraded or replaced;
- the completion of over 300,000 cleanups; and
- the dramatic reduction of the number of new releases from a high of over 66,000 in 1990 to roughly 12,000 in 2003.
To see the entire report, “Underground Storage Tanks: Building On the Past to Protect the Future” (.pdf file), visit EPA. Paper copies of EPA 510-R-04-001 may be ordered online from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) , or by calling 800/490-9198 or 513/489-8190.
