Missouri
Regulated Storage Tank Cleanup and Closure
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources provides technical oversight for site characterization and cleanup at regulated leaking underground storage tank sites. That includes reviewing and approving site investigation reports, corrective action plans and quarterly monitoring reports. The department also regulates and oversees cleanup of petroleum releases caused by leaking aboveground tanks, although it does not regulate how aboveground tanks are operated.
In a Phase I ESA
The handbook reads the department's records of cleanup at regulated leaking underground storage tank sites as the Missouri form of the state leaking storage tank records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a leaking tank listing is on the LUST page. The pages read name no separate list of leaking tank cases. They say tanks undergoing closure and cleanup are included in the department's E-Start map, so ask for the case file as well as the map entry.
How a case is handled
- Site assessment. Once a tank is taken out of use, the department says a site assessment must be done within 12 months. It must include soil and groundwater sampling where a release would most likely have occurred.
- Closure. Tanks that stay out of use must be permanently closed within five years of going out of use, by removal or by closing in place. The owner or operator files a closure notice at least 30 days beforehand, tells the department at least three days before work starts, and reports any spill or leak found at once. A final closure report follows.
- Cleanup standard. The department manages petroleum releases through its Missouri Risk-Based Corrective Action (MRBCA) process for petroleum storage tanks. See Missouri Risk-Based Corrective Action (MRBCA).
- Restrictions on the land. The department's tank guidance allows activity and use limitations as part of a corrective action plan. When it approves a restrictive covenant, the covenant must be recorded in the property's chain of title before it issues a no further action letter for that release. It evaluates each proposal case by case.
Because a covenant on a tank release can be recorded in the chain of title, a title search is a second place to look for a closed tank case that left restrictions.
Who pays
The department's financial assistance page links the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF) as funding for cleanup costs at properties contaminated by leaking petroleum storage tanks. PSTIF is a separate organization with its own website, which this handbook does not read. The department's pages do not say how a particular case was funded.
Where to look a site up
- The department's Environmental Site Tracking and Research Tool (E-Start) map, which includes tanks undergoing closure and cleanup.
- The department's Underground Storage Tank Registrations data, which the department describes as UST registration information and other data on file with it. The pages read do not say whether it shows releases.
- For older annual Source and Cause reports on tank releases, the department points to its Underground Storage Tanks Section, 573-751-6822 and tanks-compliance@dnr.mo.gov. It lists the reports for the past two federal fiscal years on its page.
- The department keeps a consultant address book of firms that have sent it reports. It says the list is not comprehensive and may be out of date.
Getting the file
The pages read do not give a records route specific to tank cases. The department's general route is the Sunshine Law request. Spills and leaks found during closure go to the department's Environmental Services Program Emergency Spill Line, 573-634-2436.
Sources
Missouri Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 8, 2026, no modified date shown: