There are more than 8,000 known leaking underground storage tanks in Michigan. Last week the state released new requirements for tank owners who are facing long term remediation projects.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality now requires tank owners with long term projects to set up Financial Assurance Mechanisms, or FAMs. Those are essentially insurance policies paid for by the tank owner.
Brad Ermisch is an Environmental Analyst for the DEQ. He said the new requirements will ensure remediation projects actually happen, and that the state doesn't have to pay for them.
“So the FAMs are put in place, as the name implies financial assurance mechanism, that would allow us to do the work if it became necessary and the owner was not doing the work. So, we would actually stand in place of the owner and make sure that the site was remediated appropriately."
Ermisch said smaller leak sites are not required to set up FAMs they are only for situations with long term obligations.
“If there's a large refinery or some other type of underground storage tank that had a spill that would require long term assurance then we would require a FAM. So, the underground storage tanks that would be larger those might be situations in which a FAM might be required."