West Virginia
Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program
West Virginia Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program
Releases from underground storage tanks in West Virginia are handled by the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). WVDEP became the lead agency for the program, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization, in September 1997. Since then it has overseen the cleanup of released regulated substances, primarily petroleum products. The program is one of four groups in the Tanks Unit of the Division of Water and Waste Management's Environmental Enforcement section.
In a Phase I ESA
LUST cases are the West Virginia 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. Three West Virginia details shape how to read one.
- Closure is worded "at this time". On what WVDEP calls the traditional path, the owner or operator cleans up to specific numerical standards for soil and groundwater, defined in WVDEP's Corrective Action Guidance Document (CAGD). Once the standards are achieved, the owner receives a "No Further Action at this time", which WVDEP says grants release or closure of the leak case.
- A leak can be finished in another office. WVDEP says a leak from a regulated underground storage tank may be remediated through one of three programs: traditional enforcement, the UECA-LUST Program or the Voluntary Remediation Program. The last two use risk-based standards, anticipate land use restrictions, and are administered by the Office of Environmental Remediation. Where a leak case took one of those routes, check for a land use covenant.
- Soil action levels depend on depth and use. WVDEP says the CAGD's action level for soils considers the depth of the contamination, and can consider whether the property's use is residential or nonresidential if certain conditions are met, in a three-tiered approach. Ask which tier a closure relied on. The CAGD posted on WVDEP's page is marked as revised in July 2018.
Who runs the cleanup
WVDEP describes the traditional path as one that owners and operators with a leaking regulated tank system follow. The LUST Program also distributes the federal and state Leaking Underground Storage Tank Response Funds, which pay for state-lead investigations and cleanups. WVDEP says a state-lead investigation occurs in one of four instances, which it words this way:
- "An emergency exists, such as an imminent health threat"
- "The responsible party does not have the financial means to respond to the release"
- "The responsible party refuses to comply with the requirements"
- "No viable responsible party can be found for the release"
WVDEP's underground storage tank FAQ says West Virginia has no state trust fund that provides financial responsibility and cleans up tank releases. Owners and operators meet the financial responsibility requirements with private insurance or the other mechanisms the federal regulations allow.
What a case file can hold
WVDEP requires the forms in the CAGD's appendices for reports sent to it, so the appendices show the paper a case can generate:
- an initial abatement measures and site check form, and an initial site characterization form;
- a site investigation report and an excavation report;
- a quarterly groundwater monitoring report and a free product recovery form;
- analytical data tables for groundwater and for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3;
- a form for each presumptive remedy, among them excavation, air sparging, soil vapor extraction and thermal desorption.
Where to look a site up
- WVDEP says to use its AST/UST public report portal to obtain a list of all LUST cases: go to the "Leaking Tanks" section and select the "All LUST Cases" report.
- Releases are required by law to be reported to the statewide emergency spill line, 800-642-3074.
- The Tanks Unit number on WVDEP's Storage Tanks page is 304-926-0499.
Getting the file
WVDEP says more information about individual underground storage tank facilities is in its document database, Application Enhancer. It also says it is still scanning LUST documents into that database, so a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request may be needed for the LUST files. The request goes through the electronic form on WVDEP's Request Information page or by email to depfoia@wv.gov. More on both is on the Application Enhancer page.
Sources
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: