Arkansas
Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund
The Regulated Storage Tanks (RST) office of the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) runs the state's Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund. The fund repays eligible tank owners or operators for the corrective action costs of an accidental release, and it pays third parties for damage such a release causes. DEQ's tank page adds that the agency may also draw on the fund in storage tank emergencies, and its fee page says the fund is the way most Arkansas underground tank owners or operators meet the financial assurance requirement.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name a state tank fund among its standard record sources. A fund record still matters, because DEQ decides eligibility only for a confirmed release, and a reimbursement application carries technical information on the work done, the project's status and the amount of contamination recovered.
Four Arkansas details shape how to read one.
- Only petroleum releases qualify. The fund covers underground tanks of 110 gallons or more and aboveground tanks of 1,320 to 40,000 gallons that hold refined petroleum, such as gasoline, diesel, waste oil or kerosene. DEQ's FAQ says the fund does not cover releases from tanks that store non-petroleum products, CERCLA materials or other hazardous substances.
- Eligibility has conditions. Under Regulation 12, an owner or operator must have owned or operated a regulated petroleum tank system, have registered the tanks and paid all tank fees, have told DEQ of the release on time and cooperated fully with DEQ's corrective action, and meet the fund's Eligibility Checklist. An aboveground tank can qualify only if it was registered, which is optional for its owner; see Regulated Storage Tanks (RST) registrations.
- The deductible depends on the release date. The fund page puts the owner's share of corrective action costs per occurrence at $25,000 for releases from February 22, 1989 to August 1, 1997, $15,000 from August 2, 1997 to July 29, 1999, and $7,500 on or after July 30, 1999. DEQ's FAQ gives the $7,500 figure for releases after July 31, 1999, so the two pages differ on the start date. The FAQ adds a separate $7,500 deductible for third-party claims.
- Every claim is reviewed three ways. DEQ screens each reimbursement application administratively, reviews whether the work was needed and done properly, and reviews the costs, which must be reasonable, allowable and necessary under Regulation 12. The fund page's text refers to DEQ's 2014 guidelines for reimbursement of corrective action costs, while its list of guidance documents links the 2026 Guidelines for Reimbursement of Corrective Action Costs.
Where to look a site up
The pages read link no list of fund eligibility decisions or claims. DEQ's Office of Land Resources lists the Petroleum Tanks Program at 501-682-0856.
For the release itself, see Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) cases.
Getting the file
Ask whether DEQ's file for the release holds an eligibility determination or reimbursement claims. DEQ's FAQ says it can usually decide an eligibility request within 30 days. DEQ takes Freedom of Information Act requests by email at EE.FOIA@arkansas.gov; see Records Management and FOIA requests.
Sources
Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: