Recent announcements by Mrs. Carol Browner, US EPA Administrator, have solidified the stance by the Agency that "there will be no extension of the UST deadline of 12/22/98!"

The significance of this statement (as reported in last month's PEI/Tulsa Letter) means that those individuals who own USTs must, by 12/22/98:

1) Retrofit their UST so that it meets current US EPA guidelines (which means providing secondary containment, leak detection, possibly cathodic protection, and/or other means which satisfy local requirements) OR

2) Repair their UST so that it meets the current US EPA requirements OR;

3) Remove/Condemn the UST OR;

4) Replace the UST with an AST.

In recent seminars, State Agencies indicate the last option is BEST. You will note there is currently no deadline for corrective action for owners of ASTs.