Access the Illinois EPA Leaking UST database or call the Illinois EPA Leaking UST Section at 1-217-782-6762 to determine if a project manager has been assigned and is available to discuss the site.

Here are some basic questions to ask the Leaking UST Section project manager:

• When was the release reported to IEMA?
• What product was released?
• To which set of regulations is the site subject?
• What reports have been submitted for this incident?
• Has anything been submitted recently?
• What is the six- or eight-digit IEMA incident number?
• What is the ten-digit Illinois EPA/Bureau of Land file number?

(Both the IEMA number and the Illinois EPA file number are useful for future FOIA requests).

To understand what needs to be done to meet the cleanup requirements, you need to know when the leak or spill was reported.  The date when a Leaking UST incident is reported to IEMA determines which program regulations will govern the site for corrective action reporting requirements.  For releases reported prior to September 13, 1993, the regulations at 35 Illinois Administrative Code (35 Ill. Adm. Code) 731 apply; for releases reported September 13, 1993, through June 23, 2002, the regulations at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 732 apply; and, for releases reported on or after June 24, 2002, the regulations at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734, apply.  The owner or operator of a site subject to the Part 731 or Part 732 regulations has the option to elect to proceed under Part 734 regulations.

There are also differences in the payment side of the Leaking UST Program for sites proceeding under Part 731 versus 732 or 734.  For sites proceeding under Part 732 or 734, both an approved plan and budget are required before an application for payment can be reviewed.  Payments for Part 731 sites are made:  (1) after the work has been completed, and (2) once documentation of the corrective action activities performed at the site has been submitted to and reviewed by the Illinois EPA.

Sometimes a Leaking UST Program site can be listed under an address other than its usual mailing address.  Many Leaking UST Program sites are gas stations located on cross streets.  Variations of the address of a property may be used when reporting a leaking UST release to IEMA.  Any additional information you can provide to the OSFM or the Illinois EPA, such as the property owner or company name, may be useful in determining if a Leaking UST incident has been reported for a particular site.  If you have exhausted all leads and want assurance that the property is not contaminated, you may retain the services of an environmental consultant to perform a site assessment.  If the site is contaminated, you wish to clean it up, and the Leaking UST Program requirements do not apply, you may enroll the site in the Illinois EPA's Site Remediation Program (SRP).  The SRP is a voluntary cleanup program - separate from the Leaking UST Program  - that will review investigation and remedial action reports and issue releases from liability, such as No Further Remediation Letters.