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GeoTracker Database Update
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September 2005 |
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Consultants and property owners involved with LUST sites are now required to submit
complete electronic copies of all environmental assessment and other monitoring reports for LUST sites to the state database “GeoTracker”. GeoTracker is a State of California database used to manage information obtained from leaking underground fuel tank (LUFT) sites.
In September 1997, California Assembly Bill 592 and Senate Bill 1189 required the State Water Resources Control Board to develop, implement, and maintain a system that would be accessible to both government agencies and the public for storing and retrieving data from sites involving discharges of petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. The implementing law is now found in the Health and Safety Code §25299.97 and in the Water Code §13195 et seq. The regulations are found in the California Code of Regulations Title 23, Division 3, Chapter 30, Article 1, §3890 et seq. According to Title 23 §3891, the GeoTracker database is intended “to track and archive compliance data from authorized or unauthorized discharges of waste to land, or unauthorized releases of hazardous substances from underground storage tanks.” |
| Online Public Review of LUST Sites |
The data are, for the most part, entered into the database by environmental consultants working for owners or operators of properties with leaking underground tanks. The data are then available without charge to State of California regulators, environmental consultants, and the general public as a resource to obtain information about leaking underground storage tanks. GeoTracker was also established to identify and display public drinking water wells located within various distances of a contamination release site, but due to security concerns, this information is no longer available to the public.
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| Most Recent Requirements |
On January 1, 2005, the SWRCB adopted regulations that now require (as of July 2005) the uploading of complete copies of all required reports in PDF format to the GeoTracker database. A recent letter sent by the State Water Board is found here.
The Water Board expects that “paperless reporting” will save time and money that was previously spent managing and archiving paper files. Electronic formatting should provide the Water Board and other agencies with immediate access to better quality data that can easily be analyzed, resulting in better and faster decisions.
However, some local agencies, including some county fire and health departments, still require submission of an original paper report with wet ink signature and seal. According to one local agency representative, reviewing reports via PDF file is cumbersome, and personnel find themselves printing reports from the GeoTracker database in order to conduct a more efficient review. |
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