Underground Storage Tank Management Program

The Underground Storage Tank Management Program (UST) of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) oversees the registration, modification and closure of underground storage tanks. It sits in DEM's Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management. The same program oversees the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, which DEM calls the LUST program and which has its own page.

In a Phase I ESA

DEM's underground tank records are the Rhode Island 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. Aboveground tanks are registered separately; see the Aboveground Storage Tank Program.

Three Rhode Island details shape the search.

• The master list includes closed tanks. DEM describes its UST Master List as a summary of registered UST facilities in Rhode Island, with information on abandoned, in use, permanently closed and temporarily closed tanks. A listing can be a tank that was permanently closed, so read its status before treating it as a tank in use.
• Single-walled systems had a deadline. A public notice on the program page says all federally regulated single-walled underground storage tanks and product pipelines must be removed and permanently closed prior to December 22, 2017 or 32 years from the date of installation, whichever is sooner. The notice says this does not apply to most heating oil tanks used for on-site use. It links a list of facilities with single-walled components, which this handbook did not open. For a site with a single-walled system, ask for its closure record.
• Heating oil tanks have their own fact sheets. The program page links fact sheets titled Residential Heating Oil UST Requirements and Tightness Testing of Heating Oil USTs Deadline. This handbook did not open them, and the pages read do not say which heating oil tanks are registered.

What a tank file can hold

The forms the program publishes show the paper a tank can generate:

• a UST registration application;
• a seller's notification of intent to transfer a UST registration, a change in ownership form and a change of facility operator form;
• applications to install or replace a tank, and to repair or modify a tank system;
• annual testing, tightness testing and cathodic protection test forms;
• a temporary closure application and a permanent closure application;
• guidelines for closure of tank systems, with a checklist, a Closure in Place (CIP) policy and guidance on release response during a UST closure.

For a tank that was permanently closed, the closure application and what was filed under the closure guidelines are the documents to ask for.

The program's rules are the Rules and Regulations for Underground Storage Facilities Used for Regulated Substances and Hazardous Materials (250-RICR-140-25-1), which the page shows as effective 11/20/18, and the Oil Pollution Control Regulations (250-RICR-140-25-2).

The program page also links a page titled USTs Prohibited From Receiving Deliveries ("Red Tagged"). This handbook could not read it.

Where to look a site up

• DEM's Site Inventories page posts the Inventory of Underground Storage Tanks (USTs), the UST Master List, as a spreadsheet. DEM says its site lists are current as of the date indicated and may change frequently.
• The program page links DEM Enviro Site Search for public UST records, and a PDF summary of information on motor fuel USTs.
• The program page gives its office as 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908-5767.

Getting the file

DEM's file review route covers UST and 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.