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For every retailer, safety concerns in keeping underground and aboveground storage tanks up to code are prevalent. In many cases, government bodies can help with reimbursement, allowing petroleum retailers to fix such problems without having to drain their pocketbooks. For tank owners and operators, the key is staying informed, being aware of what financial aid might be available and what the requirements are to gain eligibility for such reimbursement. Tank owners can be eligible to receive financial assistance through direct loans, loan guarantees or grants.

Most people who drive by their neighborhood gasoline station typically only see the dollar-something-per-gallon prices and a place to refuel their cars. But for petroleum retailers, the concerns extend far beyond the surface.

For every retailer, safety concerns in keeping underground and aboveground storage tanks up to code are prevalent. Each retailer is required to meet federally imposed regulations as well as the standards set by state and local authorities. The Environmental Protection Agency has concrete regulations for owners and operators of USTs to meet. And in many states, the federal government has deferred to state authorities to monitor related activity so long as the state regulations are at least as stringent as the EPA's. In total, 28 states have approved state programs operating in lieu of EPA standards to regulate USTs. All states have a comprehensive set of rules in terms of tank leak prevention and detection as well as cleanup.

Retailers assume responsibility for keeping their tanks in line with the proper standards and also ensure that any problems, such as leaks or spills, are taken care of. Luckily, the financial burdens aren't overbearing. In many cases, government bodies can help with reimbursement, allowing petroleum retailers to fix such problems without having to drain their pocketbooks.

For tank owners and operators, the key is staying informed, being aware of what financial aid might be available and what the requirements are to gain eligibility for such reimbursement. David Rau, a principle engineer with the Paragon Consulting Group, advises tank operators do the necessary research to keep their tanks up to speed and to understand where government help can come from.

"In some cases it's more obvious than others, but your fuel system must be in compliance with state and federal regulations if you want to access an insurance fund or a state fund," Rau said. "They always look for a reason not to pay you."

Even still, there are many instances in which government bodies offer assistance to petroleum tank owners. The EPA, for example, offers financial assistance in certain cases where tank owners must upgrade, replace or close current tanks. According to EPA data, replacing tanks is the most expensive of those cases, costing up to $100,000 to replace a three-tank facility with tanks and piping.

Tank owners can be eligible to receive financial assistance through direct loans, loan guarantees or grants. Grants allocated by state or federal agencies are usually provided for lowcost activities, like tank tightness tests, release detection, cathodic protection, and spill and overfill protection.

"The most obvious case for reimbursement is when there is a leak from an underground storage tank," said Sammy Ng, the deputy director of the EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks. "If the tank owner lives in one of about 40 states that have these so-called state trust funds, that would be the most obvious way that a tank owner could be reimbursed for the cleanup costs."

According to Ng, the state funds are all very different in terms of how they are organized, how they are funded and what kind of coverage they provide. Through the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, established in 1986, states have been appropriated money by Congress to help finance costs for cleaning up leaking USTs. The LUST Trust Fund is financed by a 0.1 cent tax per gallon of gasoline. As of September, the EPA had given more than $700 million to state programs for administration and cleanup work. Every state has a cooperative agreement with the EPA and the money is allocated by regional offices using state data.

"EPA gives most of that money to the states in the form of agreements and the states use that money primarily to hire staffs to oversee the cleanups by tank owners," Ng said. "There are other situations where tank owners are unable or unwilling to do a cleanup and then the LUST trust fund can be used by a state to fund that cleanup."

Cleanup costs, averaging close to $125,000, can be partially paid off by money from the LUST fund.

The Small Business Administration offers several financial assistance programs to aid worthy for-profit institutions. The SBA loan guarantee programs provide loans to assist petroleum marketers with tank replacements, upgrades and cleanups.

State programs vary in their details. But currently, 18 states have assistance programs for UST replacements and upgrades. Many states have financial programs, which assist tank owners with the funding of extraneous costs.

According to Bob Renkes, the executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute, Vermont has a zero-interest loan program to assist small businesses and small municipalities with upgrading and replacing costs. In Utah, Renkes said, the state legislature made loans available for upgrading, replacing or closing up tanks.

Petroleum retailers who suspect a leak in one of their tanks are required to follow strict and specific procedures to stop the leak and begin the necessary action for clean up.

"If you happen to live in one of the 40 states that have state funds, then you have to follow the appropriate procedure to file a claim for reimbursement and each state has a different way of doing that," Ng said. "In terms of federal aid to tank owners who comply with the requirements for upgrading and operating USTs, there are some federal programs, like from the Small Business Administration, that may assist the tank owner in getting financing. There are very few states that do provide low-cost or interest-free loans to tank owners to put in new tanks and clear the tanks and that kind of stuff. But some insurance carriers will give you a break on your premium for keeping it up to standards and beyond. Some states provide additional incentive for doing a good job of maintaining your USTs."

In order to continue operating to meet governmental requirements and remain eligible for potential financial assistance, it's in the best interest of tank owners to stay up to date with the latest technology and respond to their particular situation accordingly. Every year, there are new breakthroughs in tank technology as the need for leak prevention and economic value remain a priority.

What are the advantages to responding to the newest technology? For one, it can help owners have safer operations and reduce the risk of fuel spills.

"The main thing is we have requirements," Ng said. "If you don't have the proper equipment, you're subject to penalties for not being in compliance. I think that's the biggest incentive for staying active. But also, another huge incentive is that the gasoline in your underground storage tank is a valuable economic resource. It's something you can sell. It's something that costs you money to buy and you can sell at a profit. Anything you can do to ensure that you don't have a loss of that resource is useful. So you want to have the best equipment that's going to be used to prevent releases from underground storage tanks, equipment that can detect a release from underground storage tanks. And a third thing we want you to do, is not only buying equipment but going the extra step to make sure that equipment is maintained and upgraded properly at all times."

Of course, it's not always that simple for tank owners. Renkes thinks it's sometimes easier for tank owners to go the simple route as opposed to opting for luxury.

"I hate to say it, but our customers aren't always willing to pay for the best stuff," Renkes said. "If you have a family and someone says, `You ought to get the best car with the most safety for the money and that requires two airbags in the front plus side airbags.' And you say, `Golly, I don't want to buy a new BMW And even though they tell you that would be the safest, you say 'I don't want to do that: It's the same here."

So while double-walled tanks may be the best bet in terms of safety, sometimes tank owners, because of economic restrictions, stick with single-- walled tanks.

In order to monitor the level of effectiveness of their tanks and equipment, many petroleum marketers hire consultants to help out. Rau's firm, and others like it, can serve as a valuable assistant to tank owners.

"One of the things we look for when we work for a buyer is what are we buying: is it compliant? Does the equipment all work?" Rau said. "That's important for a couple reasons. There's the obvious business reason: `Am I buying what I paid for?' And then there's the question of, `Is it going to continue to operate so that I can stay in compliance?' It needs to be in compliance for me to access reimbursement funds or insurance policies."

Rau sees the biggest key to accessing reimbursement funds as the retailer's attention to compliance standards.

"Basically, have you been in compliance and done the things you need to do?" Rau said. "If you haven't, you're probably not going to get any money. That's the big carrot stick with petroleum marketers. If they want to get covered, they've got to meet requirements."

And meeting requirements is sometimes significantly more complex than the retailer might think.

"The sellers always tell us they're 100 percent compliant and they never are," Rau said. "It's extremely difficult for an owner to stay 100 percent compliant. It really is a full time effort with that because the rules are very complicated. There are a lot of subtleties and nuances and twists and turns with the rules because they were negotiated in Congress. So some of it isn't always logical."

According to Rau, Wyoming has a program in which the state itself undertakes all cleanup projects instead of hiring a middle man. That has allowed Wyoming to do cleanups at a cost 30 percent less than the national average.

"That's paid great dividends for them," Rau said. "It's a small state and they're pretty protective of their businesses."

The bottom line for tank owners and operators is surveying their situation with a case-by-case approach and determining what kinds of upgrades and improvements are sensible and which are economical.

"My advice to all people is to have the best equipment not because there are regulations that make it a requirement, but also because they are trying to protect an economic resource," Ng said. "And for equipment that you've spent a lot of money on, you should make sure it's being operated and maintained properly at all times."