Quick Links

• IEPA Stimulus Funding Fact Sheet
• Leaking Underground Storage Tank program funding Q and A
• Initial List of LUST Projects
• ARRA Jobs Created/Retained tracking spreadsheet
• OMB Guidance June 22, 2009
• Programmatic Terms and Conditions
• Site Status Report

Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009

In many Illinois communities, there are abandoned gas stations or other facilities with no responsible party to pay for cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks. These environmental hazards also prevent economic revitalization across the state.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), U.S. EPA will provide funding to Illinois  and other states to pay for these cleanups. Illinois EPA anticipates:

• Up to $7.4 million to clean-up these types of polluted sites that will spur redevelopment or beneficial reuse and create jobs. USEPA expects 25 percent of the money to be spent within 12 months
• Illinois’ ability to identify shovel-ready sites, and having contracts in place to begin remediation activities within days of receiving funding, gives the state an important boost.
• Illinois EPA’s initial list of 28 shovel-ready projects to be submitted to U.S. EPA includes municipalities where environmental site investigations have already been completed through the state Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant program or where communities have applied and are still waiting for a grant to perform site investigations.
• Many of these projects will get special consideration because they’re located in federally-designated Environmental Justice areas, which have significant minority or low-income communities that are disproportionately impacted by environmental and other health hazards. Moving these projects forward will create a cleaner environment, attract private investment and new jobs where they’re needed the most.
• The proposed sites all have known or assumed tank releases, but new capital dollars haven’t been available to complete the work over the past few years. Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed capital bill includes $4 million in new funding for the Municipal Brownfields Redevelopment Grant program, which would invest in several additional projects currently not on the list submitted to USEPA.
• Illinois EPA plans to use its current remediation consultants and contractors to investigate and perform all the clean-ups. If an unforeseen problem arises on any site, such as access issues, determining there is no tank release, or there is a responsible party, Illinois EPA will add an additional project to the list.

An FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and a list of the initial sites proposed for cleanup will provide further information. The initial sites list will be updated weekly or as needed.