Tennessee underground storage tank (UST) releases

Releases from petroleum tanks in Tennessee are reported to the Division of Underground Storage Tanks (UST) of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), whose mission includes remediating existing petroleum underground storage tank contamination. The Division maintains a database of its activities and publishes from it a file of the facilities where environmental work has followed a tank closure, a suspected release or a confirmed release.

In a Phase I ESA

The Division's release records are the Tennessee 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. Four Tennessee details shape how to read one.

• The file is wider than confirmed leaks. TDEC says its Environmental Activities file holds all facilities where any type of environment related activity has occurred due to a tank closure, a suspected release, or a confirmed release. An entry can therefore trace to a closure or a suspicion. Read the current status before calling it a leak.
• Names are as of the start. The file gives the owner's name and address when the environmental activities began, the facility's name when they began, the last known consultant working on the site, and the current status of the activities. The owner and facility names may not be the ones on the property today.
• Suspected releases are reportable. Owners and operators must report within 72 hours the discovery of released petroleum at the site or in the surrounding area, unusual operating conditions, and monitoring results, including investigation of an alarm, that indicate a release may have occurred. No report is required when equipment is found defective but not leaking, is immediately repaired or replaced, and additional monitoring within 30 days does not confirm the initial results.
• The case runs by letter and plan. When the Division is notified of a leak, it sends the owner a letter that explains how the site should be investigated, the due date for the investigation report and the name of the staff person in charge of the site. Once the investigation is complete, the owner must propose a cleanup through a corrective action plan, which the Division must approve.

Who pays is a separate question, covered on the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund page.

What the record shows

A release file is written in short forms. TDEC's release page uses these:

TDEC says the Exposure Assessment has been integrated into the IRHMR and ISCR requirements. It also says any release assessment requires environmental sampling of soil, groundwater or both, and that samples are analyzed based on the type of product stored. If the product is unknown, all samples are analyzed for all chemicals of concern.

Where to look a site up

• The Environmental Activities file is on the Division's UST Data and Reports page. TDEC says the files there are updated monthly.
• The Division also has an external GIS dataviewer. TDEC says the data driving it is continuously under review.
• Suspected and confirmed releases are reported to Releases.UST@tn.gov. The report asks for the UST Facility ID, so have that number on hand when asking about a release.

Getting the file

The Division says that anyone who needs site history, past tank owners, more detailed environmental issues, compliance matters or reimbursement of releases should call it at (615) 532-0945 and schedule a file review appointment. TDEC's Public Records Request page carries the department's records request route.

Sources

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation pages, read October 7, 2026:

• Suspected or Confirmed Releases, last modified July 23, 2025.
• UST Data and Reports, last modified October 1, 2026.
• Notification and Fees, last modified August 12, 2026.
• Tennessee Division of Underground Storage Tanks, last modified October 2, 2026.
• Public Records Request, last modified November 3, 2025.