Underground Storage Tank (UST) Finder
The UST Finder
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, developed UST Finder, a web-based map application containing a comprehensive, state-sourced national map of underground storage tank (UST) and leaking UST (LUST) data. Using publicly available information, UST Finder provides the attributes and locations of active and closed USTs, UST facilities, and LUST sites from states as of 2018-2019. UST Finder contains information about proximity of UST facilities and LUST sites to: surface and groundwater public drinking water protection areas; estimated number of private domestic wells and number of people living nearby; and flooding and wildfires. UST Finder can import additional data layers and export UST facility and LUST site information.
EPA developed UST Finder to provide users with a first-ever national picture of UST facilities and LUST sites and their relationship to: populations, potential flooding risks, private domestic wells, and source water areas. UST Finder can help:
- Prioritize site cleanups and inspections
- Triage risk
- Identify sites that may be more likely to have a release based on UST age and substance stored
- Assist in locating UST facilities and responding to emergencies, such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes
- Identify potential risks to public and private drinking water supplies
Even a small amount of petroleum or hazardous substance leaking from an underground storage tank can contaminate surface water, soil, or groundwater, which is the primary source of drinking water for many people living in the United States. Petroleum releases can also cause vapor intrusion affecting household air quality.
UST Finder allows users to find UST facilities and LUST sites, resulting in better understanding and assessment of vulnerability to human health and the environment. The web mapping application provides users with geospatial information about UST facilities and LUST sites that may be subject to extreme weather events, such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. Information from UST Finder can help regulators, owners, and operators take action to protect UST facilities from extreme weather events; rapidly identify facilities for emergency response personnel to control releases and protect the public; and rapidly identify LUST site cleanups impacted by floods and wildfires and assist in restarting cleanups after these events.
UST Finder Available Information
In addition to location information for UST facilities and LUST sites, UST Finder provides:
- Underground storage tank characteristics— tank status, installation and decommission dates, wall types, and substance stored
- UST facilities—count of active, closed, and temporarily out of service tanks
- LUST sites—release date, cleanup status, and substance released
- Proximity information about UST facilities and LUST sites—people living nearby, land-use type, number of private wells nearby, location within source water protection areas and floodplains, nearby water treatment facilities, and location in 100-year floodplains
- Reporting function for water utilities to determine what UST facilities are in proximity to surface water intakes or groundwater wells; this information could be useful when conducting risk and resilience assessments, as required under America’s Water Infrastructure Act
- Trends on LUST releases over time
- Contamination for cross-state boundaries
Primary Users
UST Finder is publicly available via EPA’s GeoPlatform. Users at a national, state, tribal or local level may find it helpful. Some primary users of UST Finder include:
- Underground storage tank implementing partners, such as state, territorial, and tribal UST programs; EPA regional UST programs
- Underground storage tank industry organization partners
- Emergency management personnel, such as EPA’s Office of Emergency Management, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and state fire marshals
- Water stakeholders, such as EPA’s Office of Water, state water programs, and local water utilities
- General public interested in information about UST facilities and LUST sites
Technical Contact
For questions about USF Finder, please send an email to: [email protected].
Access the UST Finder
UST Finder is available via EPA’s GeoPlatform https://gispub.epa.gov/ustfinder.
You can also access it via EPA’s UST website.