Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program

The Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program is the part of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's (DEM) Underground Storage Tank Management Program that oversees the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks. The same program oversees tank registration, modification and closure; see the Underground Storage Tank Management Program. DEM's Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management lists leaking tanks among the cleanups its remediation staff oversee.

In a Phase I ESA

DEM's LUST Case List is the Rhode Island 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. What is particular to Rhode Island is how DEM codes the case.

What the record shows

DEM describes the LUST Case List as a summary of UST facilities in Rhode Island with leaking tanks. It names the entries below:

Two points follow.

• Inactive is not explained further. The pages read do not say what an inactive case means for the cleanup, or whether an inactive case always has a No Further Action letter. Read the date column, and ask for the letter itself.
• The letter date is given where available. DEM gives the No Further Action date "if available". Where the date is blank, ask the file whether a letter was issued.

What a case file can hold

Under the heading Leaking UST Forms, the program page lists Guidelines for Groundwater Monitoring Reports, a Groundwater Monitoring Report Cover Sheet, and a Change in Property Owner form for LUST sites only. Its guidance includes a document on release response during a UST closure. For a property with a LUST case, the groundwater monitoring reports and any No Further Action letter are the documents to ask for.

The program page lists a UST Fund Board under the heading UST Reimbursement Fund for Clean-Ups, and DEM's office page says the tank program includes the RI UST Fund. The pages read do not say who may claim from the fund or what its records hold.

Where to look a site up

• DEM's Site Inventories page posts the Inventory of Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUSTs), the LUST Case List, as a spreadsheet. DEM says its site lists are current as of the date indicated and may change frequently, and that the absence of a site from them should not be read as a sign that it is free of regulatory issues under these programs.
• The tank program's page links DEM Enviro Site Search for public UST records.

Getting the file

DEM's file review route covers LUST files; see DEM File Reviews. Submit DEM's Request to Inspect and/or Copy Public Records form. DEM says file reviews are scheduled within 10 business days after the request is received and are conducted in its Office of Customer and Technical Assistance on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To schedule a review, DEM gives the mailbox Dem.filereview@dem.ri.gov.

Sources

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management pages, read October 13, 2026:

• Underground Storage Tank Management Program, last modified September 30, 2026.
• Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management, last modified October 6, 2026.
• Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management Site Inventories, last modified June 5, 2026.
• DEM File Reviews, last modified September 24, 2026.