A leak of just a gallon of petroleum from just one tank can contaminate one million gallons of groundwater used for drinking water. Many areas of New Jersey and New York rely exclusively on groundwater as a public drinking water source.
Leak detection can help prevent a bear of a problem from getting loose in the environment.
Most of the inspected facilities are privately owned, but some are owned by federal, state or local government agencies. The owners against whom enforcement actions were taken are expected to install release detection monitoring systems and keep records in accordance with state and federal requirements. During the May enforcement sweep, inspectors also reminded owners and operators of USTs installed before 1988 that they have less than two years remaining in which to comply with requirements designed to prevent future leaks that will take effect in December 1998. EPA recently announced that the Agency will not extend the December 1998 deadline. Owners of USTs installed after December 1988 had to meet these requirements when the tanks were installed.