|
From 1989 through 2002, the source of groundwater contamination in 85 percent of cases reported to the TCEQ
were underground or above-ground storage tanks. Usually these were petroleum storage tanks used by gas stations. Between 1989 and 2002, approximately 12,010 groundwater contamination
incidents have been documented to the Petroleum Storage Tank, Responsible Party Remediation Section of the TCEQ, of which 6,690 (about 56 percent) have been successfully cleaned up .*
There are some 158,000 underground and 21,000 above-ground storage tanks registered with the TCEQ.* The vast majority are contained in the major metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Most contain petroleum products like diesel fuel, waste oil, and gasoline and are found at gas stations. A smaller number store regulated hazardous substances. In addition to contamination of groundwater, another 12,000 underground storage tanks have contaminated soils but not groundwater.* Contamination from petroleum storage tanks has affected not only groundwater quality but also real estate values in some areas, as prospective buyers have considered cleanup costs and pollution liability.*
In 1989 the Texas legislature created a fee-supported reimbursement fund that enabled the state to assume most
of the cleanup costs of the leaking petroleum storage tanks. Any owner of a petroleum storage tank can make a claim to the fund, although an initial deduction of approximately 15 percent of
the cleanup costs is not eligible for reimbursement.* When the party responsible for contamination is unwilling or unable to pay or cannot be located, the fund can be used to pay for clean up. From 1990 to 1993, almost $200 million from this fund was spent on petroleum-storage-tank cleanup, but fee revenue was not sufficient to pay for all necessary cleanups.* In 1995 the legislature doubled the fee charged to petroleum cargo tankers at bulk stations, which is collected by the Office of the Comptroller. The fee—charged according to the size of the cargo truck—averages about one cent per gallon. In 2001, the fee was reauthorized for another five years, albeit at a slightly reduced rate. In FY 2002 and 2003, an estimated $170 million was spent *. While the agency initially requested $186 million for the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, the Texas Legislature only earmarked $122.7 million
because of the state's budget woes and the need to balance the state budget.* . While the fee supporting the program was initially expected to be phased out in FY 2007, the Texas Legislature is now likely to extend the fee and the program several years so all leaking petroleum storage tanks can be cleaned up.
|
