Oregon Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program

Oregon's leaking tank records come from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which DEQ also calls the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Program. DEQ says it provides oversight for cleanup activities at UST sites with recorded releases. The LUST database DEQ used to track tank releases was migrated to Your DEQ Online as of April 16, 2024.

In a Phase I ESA

LUST sites are the Oregon 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. Six Oregon details shape how to read one.

• One list, three kinds of tank. DEQ says its UST Cleanup List is a listing of all sites with reported releases of petroleum products from regulated underground storage tanks, unregulated USTs, and home heating oil tanks. An entry at a house can be a heating oil tank; see the Heating Oil Tank Program page.
• The log number gives the county and the year. The first entry on each line of the list is an eight-digit site Log Number. DEQ says the first two digits stand for the county in which the release occurred, the next two for the year in which it was reported, and the last four for the number of the release for that year. In DEQ's example, county 15 is Jackson County.
• Open means unresolved, sometimes for a long time. DEQ says an open, or "unresolved", LUST site means a release has occurred from a petroleum underground storage tank system that requires corrective action. In 2020 it began notifying responsible parties of unresolved sites, and says many have been unresolved for decades. Its prioritization page, which carries no date, says some sites are simply not being addressed by DEQ and are part of a backlog. An open listing with no recent activity can be one of those.
• Not every site has DEQ oversight. DEQ sorts sites into high environmental priority sites, where it contacts the responsible party; responsible party priority sites, where a party that needs DEQ signoff, for example to sell the property or obtain financing, signs a voluntary agreement and may meet a waiting list; and responsible party cleanup without DEQ oversight.
• Closure is a No Further Action decision. DEQ says it must review and approve the final cleanup report before issuing a No Further Action decision, and that it will continue to oversee all open LUST sites until it issues one.
• The notice goes to the current owner. DEQ says its notifications and cost recovery agreements are sent to current property owners, and that a responsible party is usually the current owner or operator, though previous owners or operators may be considered responsible as well. Oregon Revised Statute 465.330 requires DEQ to recover all reasonable costs from the responsible party, and DEQ puts its oversight at an average of $200 per hour.

DEQ gives the cleanup rules for leaking petroleum UST systems as Oregon Administrative Rules 340-122-0205 to 340-122-0360, and cites OAR 340-122-0217 for the duty to clean up a leak.

What the record shows

DEQ requires three reports after a release. They are the documents to ask for first:

Where to look a site up

• DEQ says Your DEQ Online's public project records are where to find information on a leaking underground storage tank leak. They are in the Your DEQ Online Public Records Portal.
• The All Sites Report, which DEQ gives for a list view of all DEQ leaking underground storage tank sites.
• The UST Cleanup Site List, as a PDF and a TXT file, on DEQ's Records, Operating Certificates and Facility Lists page. DEQ says not to open the TXT file with Excel at first, because some log numbers will be converted to dates. It says the list has a RECEIVED DATE column where past reports had CLEANUP END DATE.
• The program is at info.lust@deq.oregon.gov and 503-229-5696. DEQ says not every regional office has LUST staff, and lists Bend (541-388-6146), Portland (503-229-5263 or 503-229-5696) and Eugene (541-686-7838).

DEQ's Tanks Program page still links an older Leaking UST Cleanup Site Database. Its Leaking UST Data page points to Your DEQ Online for the most up-to-date information.

Getting the file

DEQ says information found in Your DEQ Online is not comprehensive for old projects, that there may be additional records not available online, and that a copy is obtained by filing a public records request. DEQ's digitized Tanks program records are in the Oregon Records Management System. Both routes are described on the Your DEQ Online and public records requests page.

Sources

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown:

• General Program Information
• Leaking UST Data
• FAQs on Leaking Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Notices
• Leaking UST Site Prioritization
• Petroleum Release Reporting
• Records, Operating Certificates and Facility Lists
• Tanks Program