Tag: Underground Storage Tank

  • Underground Storage Tank Update

    environmental Strategist®, between the lines:  For years we have been talking about problems with aging tanks.  I believe, since tank insurance is a low premium / low commission insurance product it does not get the attention it deserves from tank owners or insurance professionals.

    The link below updates what is taking place in the tank market, such as state tank funds drying up.

    For a little background, under Federal law, regulated UST’s (Underground Storage Tanks) must evidence financial assurance should there be a release from the UST system.  Besides your obvious gas stations, financial assurance impacts businesses with UST’s such as backup generators for Municipalities, Waste Water Treatment Plants, Hospitals, Colleges, Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Assisted Living Facilities….  Other businesses with storage tanks can include Transportation companies, Contractors, Cement & Asphalt Manufacturers, Ski Areas, Hotel & Conference Facilities….

    The problem facing UST owners today is the age of their tanks.  Back in the 1990’s the Federal Government established financial assurance requirements but never consulted with the insurance industry to find out what the insurability of a 20 or 30 year old tank system would be.  Now we have aging UST’s in the United States and for the most part, tank owners have not budgeted to replace their systems and find themselves caught.

    Photo Credit: www.tucsonaz.gov

    If you have insureds with tanks over 20 years old you need to coach them up on replacing their tanks.  Once a tank reaches 25 years old there are just a couple of insurance carriers that will offer coverage and the premiums and deductibles go up drastically and retro dates are shortened.  For tanks over 30 years old it is a crap shoot if any insurance carrier will offer coverage.

    As your environmental team member, ERMI is ready to assist you and your insureds with their UST financial assurance needs.  Contact our tank specialist Angie Marsman @ angie@ermi.us or by phone 269-792-1070.

    http://riskandinsurance.com/tight-rules-low-funding-challenge-tank-operators/

  • What you need to know about UST’s

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  Below is a You Tube video that does an excellent job of explaining how an underground storage tank (UST) operates.  Under Federal law, regulated UST’s must evidence financial assurance should there be a release from the UST system.

    The problem facing UST owners today is the age of their tanks.  Back in the 1990’s the Federal Government established financial assurance requirements but never consulted with the insurance industry to find out what the insurability of a 20 or 30 year old tank system would be.  Now we have an aging UST’s in the United States and for the most part, tank owners have not budgeted to replace their systems and find themselves caught

    If you have insureds with tanks over 20 years old you need to coach them up on replacing their tanks.  Once a tank reaches 25 years old there are just a couple of insurance carriers that will offer coverage and the premiums and deductibles go up drastically and retro dates are shortened.  For tanks over 30 years old it is a crap shoot if any insurance carrier will offer coverage.

    As your environmental team member, ERMI is ready to assist you and your insureds with their UST financial assurance needs.

    video on underground storage tanks  

  • Above Ground Storage Tank Risk Management Strategies

    AST

    12/9/15 – by Chris Bunbury, eS  – Environmental Risk Managers President:

    From contractors to agriculture, manuifacturers, auto dealer and repair facilities, trucking companies, gas stations… Above Ground Storage Tanks (AST’s) are abundant if our business world.

    Initial reactions generally are AST’s make sense versus Underground Storage Tanks (UST’s).  In talking with insurance professionals I will hear the insured does not really have an environmental exposure because their raw materials are stored in AST’s with secondary containment.  The AST pictured above is in secondary containment.  However as you and I am sure the contractor at this job site can see the integrity of the secondary containment has been compromised.  It is important to annually test the integrity of an AST’s secondary containment.

    More than likely if there is a release from this AST it will breach the secondary containment and allow pollutants to spread.  As a side note this tank is located in an area where local residents get their potable water from wells on their property, no city water supplied.

    I also point out this picture was taken after hours and there was no lock on the tank that would restrict vandals from stealing fuel or just pumping it on the ground for fun.  Regardless, the owner of the tank is responsible if there is a release, even if caused by vandals.

    At least this tank was placed in some type of secondary containment.  I would say more times than not AST’s are just placed on the ground with no secondary containment.  Farmers, like contractors will move AST’s around on their property to conserve fuel.  We see claims for this after it rains and the ground the AST was placed on gets saturated and unstable allowing the tanks to tip and spill its contents.

    Is an AST’s located where natural disasters (tornados, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes…) occur?  Natural disasters can destroy the integrity of the tank releasing its contents?

    While AST’s seem to be a better option than UST’s, when a spill does occur, the contents can spread faster and further than with a UST release.

    Most states do not require financial assurance on AST’s like they do for regulated UST’s.  One benefit to financial assurance is when a loss does occur there are some monies available to address the environmental liability.  AST’s can easily be insured on a standalone basis or using a contractors pollution liability policy or a site pollution insurance policy.

    If you are a AST owner you need to have not only a risk management strategy to reduce your exposure to loss but a financial assurance strategy for when a release occurs.

    As you environmental team member Environmental Risk Managers can assist you in proactively addressing your client’s environmental exposure to storage tanks.