Louisiana
Underground Storage Tank (UST) Closure
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) requires a notice and an assessment when an underground storage tank is permanently closed or its service is changed. Among the objectives of its UST Program, LDEQ lists that USTs are properly closed and/or removed and the sites properly assessed for contamination. Persons performing the critical junctures for tank installations, repairs and closures require certification.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name tank closure papers among its standard record sources. For a tank that is gone, they are the papers LDEQ requires around its closure. LDEQ's forms page lists two for closure, and a third for installation, renovation or repair.
| Form | What LDEQ says it is for |
|---|---|
| UST Notice of Intent to Perform Closure or Change-In-Service (UST-SURV-01) | UST owners or certified workers must submit it 30 days before permanent closure or change-in-service of a UST, for LDEQ approval |
| UST Closure Assessment Form (UST-SUR-02) | UST owners or certified workers must complete and submit it to LDEQ for approval within 60 days after UST system closure or change-in-service |
| UST Notice of Installation Upgrade Renovation Form (UST-ENF-04) | UST owners or certified workers must notify LDEQ for approval before starting UST installation, renovation or repair |
The forms page also links a UST Closure Guidance Document. This handbook has not read that document, so no sentence here says what a closure assessment must contain. Ask for the notice, the assessment form and everything attached to it.
- A closure changes the registration. LDEQ requires an amended registration within 30 days after a change in the status of a UST system, such as temporary closure, or a change in service. Compare the registration history with the closure forms. See Underground Storage Tank (UST) Registrations.
- Cleanups are a separate record. LDEQ's UST Remediation staff oversee clean up efforts at locations that have or have had leaking UST systems. See UST remediation. The pages read do not say when a closure assessment opens a case.
- The Division names an Abandoned Tank Closure Program. It is a row in the Division's contact table. The pages read do not describe the program.
A tank taken out of service
LDEQ's forms page answers questions about temporary closure, which it says the rules define as "the temporary removal from service of a UST" (LAC 33:XI.103). Its answers set three time limits.
- Three months. When a UST system is temporarily closed for three months or more, LDEQ says an updated registration form (UST-REG-01) must be submitted giving the date the tanks were temporarily closed (LAC 33:XI.903.B).
- Six months. LDEQ says UST systems that have not been upgraded with corrosion protection must be permanently closed after being in temporary closure for more than six months (LAC 33:XI.903.C).
- Twenty-four months. For systems that have been upgraded with corrosion protection and have been in temporary closure for more than 24 months, LDEQ says LAC 33:XI.903.D requires the owner or operator to perform a site assessment in accordance with LAC 33:XI.907. It says that assessment is required only once as long as the system remains empty of product.
So for a tank that sat unused, ask for the updated registration that gives the closure date, and for a site assessment if the tank was out of service for more than 24 months.
Where to look a site up
The pages read give no separate list of closed tanks. LDEQ's Electronic Document Management System holds its official records, and its quick search is the search the department's home page links: EDMS quick search.
Getting the file
LDEQ's routes to a file are its Electronic Document Management System, an online public records request form, and visits to its Public Records Center or a regional office. They are described on the Public Records Requests page.
Sources
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 8, 2026, no modified date shown: