The PST State Lead Program is authorized by law to remediate situations where a release from a PST system has occurred. Release incident cases generally involve responsible parties (RPs) who are either unwilling or financially unable to conduct the necessary corrective actions at LPST sites.

• The state authority for the PST program can be located in the Texas Water Code, Chapter 26, Subchapter I, originally enacted by Senate Bill 779, 70th Legislature, 1987, and amended in subsequent legislative sessions.

• In 1987, the 70th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 779 which authorized the Texas Water Commission (historic state agency) to develop and administer a comprehensive statewide underground storage tank (UST) program. The program is now administered by the TCEQ and addresses the requirements applicable to all UST owners/operators concerning leak detection, record keeping, reporting, corrective action, closure, and financial responsibility.

• In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature established House Bill 1588 in response to the growing concerns for public health, environmental, and financial impacts resulting from LPSTs. House Bill 1588 created the Petroleum Storage Tank Remediation (PSTR) Fund. Currently, the PSTR Fund is the primary source of funding for PST State Lead remediation activities.

The Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank Cleanups web URL is: (https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/pst_rp/pst.html).