Underground Storage Tank (UST) - Removal

​The California Health and Safety Code (H&SC), the California Code of Regulations (CCR) and the Sacramento County Code (SCC) require that a UST owner or operator must obtain a permit to remove a UST. EMD is the agency that issues UST removal permits in Sacramento County.

UST Removal Requirements

The following is a general overview of UST removal requirements.

  • Submittal and approval of UST removal application, supporting forms and permit fee.
  • Removal and proper disposal of any residual liquid, solids, or sludge within the UST system.
  • All soil and water sampling meets EMD requirements including quality control, sampling plot map, chain of custody and third party sampling analysis by a state certified testing lab.
  • EMD observation/ inspection of the UST removal and soil sampling (48 hour notification required). 
  • Submittal of reinsate manifest, tank disposal documentation, soil and water sample lab analysis, and soil stockpile disposal documentation.

Owner/Operator Responsibilities

If you are the owner or operator of a UST that is to be removed, you and your designee must:

  1. Complete and submit a Consolidated Application For Authority to Remove Under Ground Storage Tanks to EMD for review. A permit (Authority Letter to Remove) will be issued upon approval of the proposed removal.
  2. Receive this permit (Authority Letter to Remove) before proceeding with UST removal.
  3. Follow all permit conditions, including but not limited to, inspection, testing, and plan/report submittal requirements.

UST owners and operators, their designee, or construction contractors who fail to comply with UST review and permitting requirements may be subject to enforcement action.

Note: Smaller USTs located on farms or used for home heating oil may be exempt from UST removal permit requirements; Contact EMD for information regarding this; Regardless of the permit exemption the knowledge or discovery of any soil or water contamination must be reported to EMD immediately.

Have Questions?

If you need more information or have questions concerning UST permit requirements, please contact:

Sacramento County Environmental Management Department
Environmental Compliance Division
11080 White Rock Rd., Suite 200
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

916-875-8550
916-875-8513 (fax)
emdinfo@saccounty.net