Georgia Underground Storage Tank (GUST) Trust Fund

The Georgia Underground Storage Tank (GUST) Trust Fund is the state fund a tank owner can join to meet the federal financial assurance requirement. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) says federal law requires all tank owners to prove financial assurance in case of a petroleum release, and that Georgia enacted the fund so that owners have an option for meeting that requirement. Participation is optional, and EPD strongly encourages it.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name a state tank cleanup fund among its standard record sources. The fund matters because it bears on who pays for a tank cleanup and on which EPD unit reviews it.

• Eligibility rests on compliance. EPD tells new owners that eligibility for enrollment in the fund, and for reimbursement from it if a release occurs, depends on continual compliance with the underground storage tank requirements it describes to them. Do not assume a registered facility is covered. Ask whether it participates and whether the release was found eligible.
• Eligibility decides the reviewing unit. The Corrective Action, Responsible Party Lead (CARPL) Unit reviews closure reports and corrective action plans for sites that are eligible for GUST Trust Fund reimbursement. The Corrective Action, State Team Lead (CASTL) Unit reviews them for sites that are not eligible, and provides and manages corrective action contractors for cleanup of eligible facilities.
• Payments are a public record. EPD posts a Payments and Obligations workbook, which it describes as payment information for facilities participating in the fund.

The tank release record itself is on the Underground Storage Tank releases and corrective action page.

What a fund file can hold

When a participating facility must submit a Corrective Action Plan Part A, EPD requires these documents with it:

• the Trust Fund Application, form GUST-36;
• a Cost Review Form;
• the Payment Request Form for Reimbursement, form GUST-4A;
• the GUST Assignment of Payments declarations and request form;
• a proof of payment affidavit, titled for direct pay to the owner or operator.

A Trust Fund Coordination Unit assists the program by administering the fund and the program's income and expenditures. The CARPL and CASTL units are also listed as administering the fund.

EPD's page for new owners links two flyers, one titled What is the GUST Trust Fund and one titled Understanding Private Insurance.

Where to look a site up

• The Payments and Obligations workbook is on EPD's UST Data and Reporting page. The copy posted was revised March 2026.
• The Underground Storage Tank Management Program's line is 404.362.2687.

Getting the file

The pages read name no separate file room for the fund, so start with the tank facility file. EPD says facility documents dated 2019 to the current year may be found on GEOS, that files dated 2008 to 2018 are available only in hard copy at its Land Branch Tradeport location, and that most older files are archived offsite. Hard copy reviews are by appointment, requested by email at the address on EPD's UST File Reviews page. Requests under the Georgia Open Records Act go through EPD's Open Records Request Portal.

Sources

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 7, 2026:

• UST New Owner Registration and GUST Trust Fund, last modified March 14, 2022.
• UST GUST Trust Fund Participants, last modified March 3, 2026.
• UST Management Program, last modified February 7, 2022.
• LPB Program and Units, last modified June 30, 2026.
• UST Data and Reporting, last modified October 6, 2026.
• UST File Reviews, last modified March 14, 2022.
• Land Branch Open Records Requests, last modified July 29, 2026.