EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) implements the underground storage tanks program in Indian Country. Specifically, EPA is responsible for inspecting tanks and helping to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations and helping to ensure petroleum contaminated sites are cleaned up.
EPA works to improve human health and the environment in Indian Country by working with tribes to:
- Clean up petroleum releases from underground storage tanks (USTs) by giving priority to releases that present the greatest threat to human health and the environment;
- Implement and enforce underground storage tank leak prevention and detection requirements according to EPA's enforcement principles; and
- Meet EPA's annual and long-term goals for cleanup and compliance.
Underground storage tanks within Indian Country represent less than one percent of the federally-regulated USTs in the United States. The UST program in Indian Country is similar to those within a state and includes facilities ranging from small gas stations to large ones owned by multi-national companies. Some of these tanks and facilities are owned and operated by tribes.
Of the more than 560 federally recognized tribes, only a small portion (about 200) have federally-regulated underground storage tanks on their lands. Of those 200 tribes, over half have ten or fewer active underground storage tanks. Only 12 tribes have 50 or more underground storage tanks.
To learn more about EPA's tribal programs, visit EPA's American Indian Environmental Office. To learn more about how OUST works with tribes in Indian Country, visit OUST's tribal strategy page. To learn more about compliance and enforcement in Indian Country, visit EPA's compliance and enforcement through tribal government Web area. To learn more about the underground storage tanks program, visit the OUST home page.