On June 24, 2002, Governor Ryan signed into law amendments to Illinois’ Petroleum Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program (Public Act 92-0554). The amendments require that upon the discovery of a release of petroleum from a UST, owners or operators must now perform a site investigation rather than a site classification. The amendments also raise the maximum amount that maybe reimbursed from the Underground Storage Tank Fund to $1.5 million from $1 million. Releases reported after June 24, 2002, are covered by these amendments, and an owner or operator may elect to proceed under these new provisions if the release was reported prior to June 24, 2002.
Under the old law, after the discovery of a release of petroleum from a UST, the owner or operator was required to perform a site classification, which would classify the site in one of three ways: no further action, low priority or high priority. The required corrective action was then based upon how the site was classified. Site
