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Georgia

Underground Storage Tank (UST) registrations

Agency Georgia Environmental Protection Division
ASTM search distance Subject property and adjoining properties

Georgia Underground Storage Tank (UST) registrations

Georgia's registered tank list is kept by the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Management Program of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). Each UST facility must be registered every year between August 1 and December 31, and again within 30 days of an ownership change or the addition of new tanks.

In a Phase I ESA

EPD's tank registrations are the Georgia form of the state registered storage tank records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a registered tank listing is on the UST / AST page. A registration says a tank system exists or existed. Releases are a separate record, described on the Underground Storage Tank releases and corrective action page.

Four Georgia details shape the search.

  • Aboveground tanks are outside the rules. EPD says several systems are exempt from the Georgia UST rules, and that the most common exemptions are heating oils, tanks used to run heating equipment, boilers and furnaces, and aboveground storage tanks. It sends questions about heating tanks and aboveground tanks to the local fire department, the city or county government, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A property with no EPD registration can still have tanks of those kinds.
  • Emergency generators are regulated. The program says it is responsible for regulating emergency generators as well as UST systems, and names hospitals and data communication centers as common emergency generator facilities.
  • Tank status comes first. For anyone buying a tank, or a property that contains one, EPD says the first step is to determine whether the tanks are in use, not in use, or temporarily out of use. It publishes two flyers for buyers, one for an existing facility and one for a former facility.
  • A tank closed in place is still in the ground. The program recommends closing tanks by removing them, and says tanks that remain in the ground, even properly closed in place, can cause delays and added expense when a property is sold. Either way, the owner must submit a Closure Activity Form (GUST-29) at least 30 days in advance, then follow the closure guidance and fill out the closure report template. For a closed tank, the closure report is the document to ask for.

EPD also tells a seller to update the ownership information and transfer records to the new owner, so ask the seller for the tank records.

The program's rule is 391-3-15, Underground Storage Tank Management. EPD pairs it with O.C.G.A. 12-13-1, which it lists as the Georgia Underground Storage Act.

What the record shows

EPD posts these files on its UST Data and Reporting page.

File What EPD says about it
Data for All Georgia Counties Information on UST facilities, including tank status, by county. Revised September 2026.
Facility Contact Information Posted under the heading for current or former UST owners or operators. Revised March 2026.
Public Record Report The total number of UST facilities, the number of inspections, and confirmed UST releases and their source cause for a set reporting period. EPD says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires it.

Two Regulatory Compliance units, north and south, inspect the installation and operation of petroleum and hazardous substance UST systems and issue notices of violation. An owner updates facility or tank information on Form 7530, Notification Data for UST.

Where to look a site up

  • The files above are on EPD's UST Data and Reporting page.
  • Annual registration is done through GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System. EPD says electronic records for facility documents dated 2019 to the current year may be found there, through the link to the Public Inquiry Portal.
  • The program's line is 404.362.2687. The Annual Tank Registration helpline is 404.362.2590.

Getting the file

EPD's UST File Reviews page sorts a facility's file by date.

  • 2019 to the current year: electronic records may be found on GEOS.
  • 2008 to 2018: available only in hard copy, at EPD's Land Branch Tradeport location.
  • Before 2008: most files have been archived offsite and need additional time for retrieval.

Every review of hard copy records needs an appointment, requested by email at the address on the UST File Reviews page. EPD sets a one-hour limit for viewing in the office and says you are responsible for any copies. 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:

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