Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tanks (APST)

The Division of Environmental Response and Remediation (DERR) of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began regulating some aboveground petroleum storage tanks (APSTs) in 2021, after legislation passed that year widened its authority. DERR's pages give two start dates: its Petroleum Storage Tank Branch page says July 1, 2021, and its APST page says May 5, 2021.

In a Phase I ESA

DERR's aboveground tank records are a Utah form of the state registered storage tank records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The pages read link no list of APSTs, so the pairing is the handbook's reading. The general reading of a registered tank listing is on the UST / AST page. Underground tanks are on the Petroleum Storage Tank (PST) Program page.

Four Utah details shape the search.

• Only some aboveground tanks are covered. On DERR's APST page, a regulated APST is a petroleum tank of more than 500 gallons that rests on soil or gravel, has piping partly underground, or both. The PST Branch page describes it as a tank buried less than a tenth of its volume, with underground piping attached or resting on the ground, that holds regulated substances and can hold 501 gallons or more. Both pages leave out tanks at commercial airports used for fueling, farm and agricultural tanks, tanks at petroleum refiners (SIC 2911) and at bulk stations and terminals (SIC 5171), tanks tied to oil or gas production and gathering, and heating oil tanks used on the premises.
• Registration is recent. DERR's APST page says owners of regulated tanks had to notify DERR on its APST Notification Form by July 1, 2022, and, by June 30, 2023, show financial responsibility and obtain a Certificate of Compliance.
• Releases now go to DERR. Since the 2021 law, the owner of a regulated APST must file a closure plan before a closure, an upgrade, a line replacement or similar work, and a release from a regulated APST falls under DERR, with the petroleum tank reporting duties and cleanup standards. The PST Branch page adds that from 2025 owners must also tell DERR of ownership changes, new installations, and upgrades and repairs.
• Old contamination and the fund. For a regulated APST in the Environmental Assurance Program (EAP), DERR says a site assessment is optional. Without one, the EAP covers new releases from a documented, known source in full from the first day of participation, and covers in full historic contamination found after ten years of continuous coverage. DERR says an APST outside the regulated group must have a site assessment, and its historic impacts are not covered. So the file of an APST in the fund may or may not hold a site assessment.

DERR's forms for aboveground tanks

DERR's APST page names what an owner submits for a Certificate of Compliance under R311-206-3, among them a Certificate of Compliance Application, a Previous Pollution Incident form, a Financial Responsibility Declaration, tank and line tightness tests from the last six months, and an as-built drawing or site plat. The page, last modified May 15, 2026, says that from July 1, 2026, tests of overfill devices, cathodic protection and line leak detectors will be required. For a regulated APST, ask whether the file holds the notification form, the Previous Pollution Incident form and any closure plan.

Where to look a site up

• DERR's PST page links UST and LUST Files, which DERR describes as a step-by-step search of the UST and LUST records held electronically. The pages read do not say whether it covers APSTs.
• DEQ's Interactive Map. The pages read do not say whether it shows APSTs.
• DERR takes APST notification forms at TankCompliance@utah.gov. Its line for questions is (801) 536-4100.

Getting the file

DERR takes records requests on DEQ's GRAMA request form at errgrama@utah.gov or (801) 536-4157, and files are viewed by appointment. The routes are on the GRAMA requests page.

Sources

Utah Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 13, 2026:

• Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tanks (APST), last modified May 15, 2026.
• Petroleum Storage Tank Branch, last modified September 8, 2026.
• Environmental Quality Records Request (GRAMA), last modified April 21, 2026.