Streamlining the Remediation of Leaking Underground Fuel Tanks (LUFT): Updating the California LUFT Manual

The State Water Board is hosting four public meetings to collect information and ideas for updating the California LUFT manual and to invite discussions on how to improve the overall process of Underground Storage Tanks (UST) remediation within the state. 

Please join us in this process by registering for and attending one of the four public meetings. To assist us in planning, please be attentive to registration deadlines for each meeting. 

Background: Since the inception of the UST program in 1984, we have discovered more than 45,000 leaking USTs. Having remediated approximately 33,000 of these sites, the LUFT cleanup program has been very successful. Nonetheless, approximately 12,000 leaking UST sites remain to be remediated.  

The LUFT manual was introduced in 1989 as an attempt to outline best management practices and procedures for corrective action. Many lessons have been learned about successful and efficient investigation and remediation of leaking UST sites in the past 19 years. It is time that we incorporate what has been learned into an updated LUFT manual.

The new LUFT manual is envisioned as a guidance document, and is not meant to supercede existing regulations on cleanup levels, regulatory processes, or other directives. Therefore, the manual will be constrained in scope. We anticipate that it will discuss the science of chemical fate and transport, strategies for effective and efficient site cleanup, and best management practices for site assessment and remediation. However, because you (regulators, consultants, responsible parties, property owners, scientists, and other interested parties) are the experts, these meetings are being held to bring you and your knowledge and experience into the process. 

Public Meetings in Four California Locations 
We invite you to attend any one of the four public meetings to help establish the scope and content of the LUFT manual and begin conversations on streamlining the overall remediation process.

These will be one-day, facilitated meetings, with all attendees participating in a fast-paced work environment. The meetings are designed to give us (as stakeholders in the process) a chance to become familiar with one another, ensure that all perspectives are heard, maximize the opportunity for productive dialogue, and help us to discover common ground through a collaborative process. No decisions will be made at the meetings, and all four meetings will have a similar format and the same basic objective, so there is no need to attend more than one.