Maryland
Underground storage tank registrations
In Maryland, underground storage tanks (USTs) are regulated by the Oil Control Program (OCP) in the Land and Materials Administration of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). MDE says all regulated USTs in the state are required to be registered through its UST Notification Program.
In a Phase I ESA
The OCP's UST registration database is the Maryland 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 is a record that a tank system was registered. Oil releases are a separate record, described on the Oil Control Program remediation sites page.
Four details from MDE's pages shape the search.
- Regulated tanks must be registered. The page says "regulated" USTs must be registered. It does not list the tanks that are not regulated, so ask whether a tank was regulated before treating its absence from the database as the absence of a tank. For home heating oil tanks, see the residential heating oil tanks page.
- Upgrade dates. MDE says USTs storing motor fuels, used oil or bulk heating oil should have been upgraded or replaced by December 1998 to specific technical standards, or removed from the ground. The basic upgrade requirements it names are spill protection, overfill protection and corrosion protection.
- Delivery bans. MDE says the OCP may prohibit delivery of product to a UST system found in significant violation of Maryland regulations.
- Certified workers. MDE says individuals who remove, install, inspect, repair or upgrade UST systems must be certified by the Department. A certification search tool and lists of companies that employ certified technicians and removers are linked from MDE's pages.
Paper a tank can generate
MDE's Fact Sheets and Publications page links forms and guidance on UST systems. By their titles they include a 30-day written notification form for UST removal or abandonment, a document titled "Underground Storage Tank Sample Closure Report Guidance", monthly and annual walkthrough inspection forms, and a booklet for real estate professionals on underground storage tanks. This handbook did not read those documents. The pages read do not say which of these MDE keeps on file for a tank.
Where to look a site up
- MDE's UST Facility Summary Report search tool locates UST facilities within the OCP's UST Registration database. MDE says it also identifies whether a facility is currently under a delivery ban.
- For registration questions, MDE's page points to the Land Permits applications page. The Oil Control Program's phone number is 410-537-3442.
Getting the file
The pages read for this page do not describe a records request route for UST registration files. MDE's Public Information Act requests page covers requests for MDE records in general.
Sources
Maryland Department of the Environment pages, read October 8, 2026. The pages show no modified date.