Barrow Logo Barrow EP Handbook

Utah

Environmental Assurance Program (EAP)

Agency Utah Department of Environmental Quality

The Environmental Assurance Program (EAP) is run by the Division of Environmental Response and Remediation (DERR) of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). DERR says its purpose is to see that petroleum storage tanks are managed under federal and state law, and for the owners and operators in it, the EAP pays eligible cleanup costs of a release once a deductible is paid. DERR's LPST page links the EAP page as the Petroleum Storage Tank (PST) Fund. DERR says the Legislature created the PST Fund in 1989 as an affordable way to meet the federal financial assurance requirement, which owners can also meet with private insurance or self-insurance.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name state tank fund records among its standard record sources. The fund bears on a Phase I because it shapes who paid for a cleanup. The cases themselves are on the Leaking Petroleum Storage Tanks (LPST) Program page.

Four Utah details shape how to read it.

  • The amounts of assurance. DERR says federal and state law require every tank owner or operator to be able to pay for investigating and cleaning up a release, and that the amount depends on the business: $500,000 for a petroleum non-marketer and $1 million for a marketer.
  • The deductible and the limits. For a release after July 1, 1994, the owner or operator pays a $10,000 deductible. For a release reported on or after May 11, 2010, the EAP then covers eligible costs up to $990,000 for a non-marketer or $1,990,000 for a marketer, which DERR says is twice the federal requirement.
  • Coverage is applied for, and other insurance pays first. An owner or operator files an eligibility application with DERR and must say whether it has other insurance. DERR says other insurance is primary and the EAP secondary, and a claimant paid by both must pay the EAP back. DERR's LUST guidance list links a PST Eligibility Application. Ask whether the case file holds the eligibility application.
  • Aboveground tanks. For regulated aboveground tanks in the EAP, DERR says a site assessment is optional, and sets out what is covered without one; see Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tanks (APST).

How the fund is paid for

DERR likens EAP coverage to an insurance policy, paid for mainly by mandatory and voluntary tank fees, among them a per-gallon surcharge set by the Legislature on fuel sold, or, for non-marketers, passed through a dispenser. DERR says that, to date, about $135 million has been spent from the EAP, and that the FY2021 Actuarial Report put the cost of finishing the remaining known cleanups at about $27.4 million.

Where to look a site up

  • The pages read link no list of sites covered by the EAP.
  • DEQ's Interactive Map. DERR's map terminology page lists UST and Leaking UST Sites among the map's terms.
  • DERR's line for tank 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:

Maintained by Barrow. General reference only, not legal or professional advice. Barrow is not affiliated with any government agency, and neither Barrow nor the information as presented here is endorsed by any state or government agency. See how Barrow drafts the report