Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) a way to avoid regulation that applies to underground storage tanks (USTs)?


	2.-		Are aboveground storage tanks a way to avoid underground storage tank (UST) requirements?


	3.-		Are heating oil tanks regulated under federal underground storage tank (UST) rules?


	4.-		Are heating oil tanks regulated?


	5.-		Are there specific bacterial groups known to be capable of reducing arsenic from As(V) to As(III), the more soluble form, making it more likely to contaminate ground water?


	6.-		Can arsenic that has been applied to the landscape in pesticides or as a residual component of poultry manures, or arsenic that has been buried in unlined landfills, migrate through soil and geologic formations to contaminate ground water wells?


	7.-		Can I substitute a lead test for the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) analysis to determine if old underground fuel storage tanks that have not been in service since the early seventies leaked gasoline into the surrounding soil?


	8.-		Can leaking fuel storage tanks be repaired?


	9.-		Do I have to remove fuel storage tanks from the ground or can I close them in place? What if there is contamination?


	10.-		Do perchlorate salts occur in nature?


	11.-		Do wells provide a route to groundwater contamination?


	12.-		Does EPA's issuance of a health advisory level of 15 ug/L of perchlorate in drinking water in January of 2009 impact cleanup of perchlorate at Superfund sites?


	13.-		Does mercury or its salts move readily through the soil to contaminate underground water?


	14.-		Does my double wall fuel tank piping require leak detection?


	15.-		Have the underground storage tank (UST) requirements helped protect the environment?


	16.-		How can I choose a leak detection method for my underground storage tank (UST) and make sure it works?


	17.-		How can I tell if a release from my underground storage tank (UST) has occurred?


	18.-		How did the federal underground storage tank (UST) program begin?


	19.-		How do I report a release from an underground storage tank (UST) system?


	20.-		How do I report a release from an UST system?


	21.-		How do you close underground storage tanks (USTs)?


	22.-		How does an aquifer become contaminated?


	23.-		How have the underground storage tank (UST) requirements helped protect the environment?


	24.-		How long does it take for spilled oil to seep into the ground?


	25.-		How many underground storage tank (UST) systems have leaked and how many have been cleaned up?


	26.-		How much sulfate (SO4) is typically found in ground water?


	27.-		How should a well be constructed to reduce the likelihood of contamination from a septic system?


	28.-		If I have an existing fiberglass Underground Storage Tank (UST) and I am replacing my old steel product lines, do I have to sample the existing line trench if my new lines are going to be installed in the same trench? Do I have to prepare a closure report on the lines? What if I am abandoning the old product piping in place and installing lines in a new trench?


	29.-		In humid climates amorphous iron oxy-hydroxide deposits commonly seep from road banks or banks along streams to coat sediment, rocks or even vegetative debris in streams with an unsightly bright orange coating. Are such deposits environmentally benign of arsenic or other potentially toxic elements?


	30.-		Is ground water more susceptible to pollution in areas with sinkholes?

<Previous| 1 2 3 |Next>

GO Back One Page

Search for a Different FAQ

This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.