The Groundwater Branch administers and provides technical support for regulatory programs related to groundwater protection or cleanup. This Branch directly administers the Underground Storage Tank, (UST), Program and the Underground Injection Control, (UIC), Program. Geologists within the Groundwater Branch provide technical support to the Hazardous Waste, Solid Waste and Superfund and Brownfields Programs. Any incident of contamination of groundwater that does not fall within one of the programs above, is dealt with under the authority of the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act. This statute provides the legal basis to require investigation and cleanup where groundwater has been contaminated. Groundwater Branch staff also respond to citizen complaints and concerns regarding groundwater.
The UST Program consists of a prevention program (the UST Compliance Program) and a cleanup program (the UST Corrective Action Program). These two groups administer the UST regulatory program to help prevent releases and to require the cleanup of pollution caused by releases from underground storage tanks. The program also administers the Alabama Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank trust Fund which provides financial assistance for both aboveground and underground storage tank owners who comply with the regulatory requirements to clean up pollution from tanks that have had releases.
Electronic Payments for UST Fees
2011 Public Record Summary Report on USTs
UST Operator Training
List of Approved Operator Training Providers
SIR Vendors
Certified Tank Tightness Testers
Certified CP Testers
New ADEM Regulations for UST Systems
UST Compliance Information
UST Corrective Action
UST Compliance Database
UST Owners
UST Facilities
USTs
ASTs
The Alabama Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Trust Fund is a fund to reimburse eligible tank owners and operators for costs associated with the assessment and remediation of eligible releases from underground and aboveground storage tanks. For many tank owners and operators throughout the State of Alabama, the Trust Fund serves as the required financial responsibility mechanism.
Tank Trust Fund Information
Tank Trust Fund Basics
Trust Fund Eligibility
Alabama Tank Trust Fund (ATTF) Contractors Payment Request Status
Alabama Tank Trust Fund Contractors
Names, addresses and phone numbers of consultants who are approved to work as approved response action contractors under the Alabama Tank Trust Fund as of March 23, 2012.
Alabama Tank Trust Fund (ATTF) Reasonable Rate Schedule as of June 2003
Revised Alabama Tank Trust Fund Maximum Allowable Labor Rates as of June 2009
Alabama Tank Trust Fund Mileage Rate - January 1, 2011
Alabama Tank Trust Fund Mileage Rate - July 1, 2011
February 10, 2011 Memo to Tank Trust Fund Contractor, PR Forms
Revised Draft Alabama Tank Trust Fund Payment Request Form, January 2011
ADEM UIC Class V Well Permit Application Requirements Guidance
Within the past few decades, the realization that subsurface injection could contaminate ground water has prompted many states to develop programs and methods to protect underground sources of useable water. Additionally, to increase ground water protection, a federal Underground Injection Control (UIC) program was established under the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974. This federal program establishes minimum requirements for effective state UIC programs. Alabama has EPA's approval to run the UIC program in the state. Since ground water is a major source of drinking water in Alabama, the UIC program requirements were designed to prevent contamination of Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW) resulting from the operation of injection wells.
What is An Underground Injection Well?
Most of the injection wells regulated by ADEM, are designed much like the gravity flow field lines used to dispose of domestic wastewater from a home. Common uses are for treated discharges from small car washes and laundromats that are located in an area where a public sewer system is not available. There are also treated discharges from small wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential areas, and discharges of treated groundwater from systems designed to cleanup groundwater contamination.
When properly sited, constructed, and operated, injection wells can be an effective and environmentally safe means of fluid waste disposal. There are many different types of injection wells, but they are all similar in their basic function. The federal and Alabama UIC program has grouped injection wells into five categories:
Class I Wells - Injection of pollutants below an USDW. These wells are prohibited by regulation in Alabama
Class II Wells - Injection of wastes from oil & gas productions. The Alabama Oil & Gas Board regulates these types of wells.
Class III Wells - Solution mining of certain minerals. Alabama currently regulates one facility with this type of well. Fresh water is injected to dissolve minerals, such as salt, and the salt solution is used as a raw material in a manufacturing process.
Class IV Wells - Injection of Hazardous Waste above an USDW. These wells are banned nationally by Federal regulations. If any are found, they are required to be closed.
Class V Wells - All other types of wells not regulated as a Class I, II, III or IV well. These make up about 90 % of permitted injection wells in Alabama.
The Hydrogeology Section of the Groundwater Branch provides hydrogeologic expertise and project management for the State Groundwater Protection Program. This program addresses a broad spectrum of contaminants not regulated by other authorized programs within the agency. Examples include petroleum hydrocarbons not related to underground storage tanks and chemical releases not regulated as hazardous wastes under RCRA. The Hydrogeology Section also provides hydrogeological, (groundwater related), services to other groups within the Department, other State agencies, government, and the public. Complaints received from the public regarding contamination of ground water are assigned to project managers in this Unit if they do not fall within any of the regulatory programs mentioned above.
Contact Information
ADEM
Attn: Groundwater Branch
Post Office Box 301463
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1463
(334) 270-5655
(334) 270-5631 Fax
