The purpose of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) inspection program is to ensure that hazardous materials stored in underground tanks are not released into the environment, potentially polluting ground and surface waters..

The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), Environmental Health Division oversees the UST inspection program in most of the cities of Orange County, with the exception of Anaheim, Fullerton, and Orange. As the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), Environmental Health is tasked by the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement and enforce the underground storage tank codes. To this end, specialists from Environmental Health inspect underground storage tanks, monitoring equipment and compliance documents of UST systems to ensure that these systems are in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.

This Agency also serves to educate and assist tank owners and operators with regulatory requirements. To contact your inspector directly, please use UST Inspector Phone List- by city. For general questions please call 714-433-6000 and request to speak to the Duty Officer.

UST Testing Notification & Test Results:

To notify this Agency of an upcoming Monitoring System Certification, Spill Container Test, Secondary Containment (SB989) Test, or Overfill Prevention Equipment Inspection, please submit your request by email to USTnotifications@ochca.com at least 48 hours prior to the test.

For tests conducted on or after October 1, 2018, results must be submitted on the following state forms:

Monitoring System Certification Form
Spill Container Test Report Form
Secondary Containment Testing Report
Overfill Prevention Equipment Inspection Report Form

Test results are due within 30 days and may be submitted directly to your assigned UST inspector. Paper copies may be sent to:

Orange County Health Care Agency
1241 E. Dyer Road, Suite 120
Santa Ana, CA 92705-5611

Informational Documents from the State Water Resources Control Board:

Attention Secondary Containment Testers:

The secondary containment test procedure that was described in the 2002 document “Standard for Secondary Containment Testing of Underground Storage Tank Systems” and accepted by OCHCA has been rescinded by the CalCUPA Forum. The procedure is no longer valid. In accordance with 23CCR section 2637 testers must follow manufacturer’s guidelines or industry standards, such as the PEI 1200 manual. OCHCA will no longer accept test results that utilize the rescinded procedure for sites that provided notification after 11/3/17. Sites that notified for secondary containment testing prior to 11/3/17 may still submit results with the rescinded procedure.

UST Forms:

Effective January 1, 2017, businesses are required to submit all required UST compliance documents to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). To access the Business Portal, please visit https://cers.calepa.ca.gov/.

Underground Storage Tank System Testing Intervals

¹Not required on VPH systems.
²Only required for single-walled tanks. Interval depends on monitoring plan.
³For single-walled piping or systems not programmed for positive shutdown and fail safe.

UST Modifications & Repairs:

Please refer to our Guidelines for UST Modifications document to determine if the scope of work you intend to perform will require the submittal of a “plan check” and payment of fees to this Agency. Please visit the following link to access the current fee schedule: Hazardous Materials Management Program Fee Schedule.

View this video for a simplified look at the UST "plan check" process.

Underground Storage Tank FAQs

• Document Submittal
• Facility Compliance
• Inspections
• Violations
• Testing
• Designated Operator (DO)
• Plan Check and Repairs
• Permit to Operate
• New Owners
• Agency Information

Underground Storage Tanks—The Basics

A resource for small and medium-sized businesses in Orange County

This manual is intended to provide businesses with the tools necessary to own and operate an underground storage tank system in compliance with the rules and regulations enforced by OCHCA.