Sonoma County Local Oversight Program

The Sonoma County Local Oversight Program (LOP) oversees the investigation and cleanup of fuel releases from underground storage tanks in all areas of the county with the exception of the cities of Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Sites are entered into the LOP when a release from an underground tank is reported. This typically happens when an underground tank is removed and signs of a release are either obvious or else reported in laboratory sample results. Releases are also reported when contamination is found while repairing fuel delivery systems or when environmental site assessments are done at the time of property sales.

Once entered into the LOP, the site must be investigated and cleaned up in accordance with the California Underground Storage Tank Regulations, Sonoma County Program Guidelines for Site Investigations, and Regional Water Quality Control Board water quality objectives.

The LOP is authorized to regulate underground storage tank releases by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). Appeals for action or inaction by Sonoma County LOP may be made through the Sonoma County Local Review Process or directly to the SWRCB.

The State Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund, which is administered by the SWRCB, is available to eligible tank owners and operators, and may pay up to $1.5 million for the investigation and cleanup of sites. Deductibles may apply, and only reasonable and necessary expenses are reimbursed.

Information regarding sites in the Sonoma County program is available online from the State web-based information system GeoTracker. Access to this web site can be found by clicking on the GeoTracker hyperlink listed below. Other helpful links are also listed.

These documents are saved in Adobe Acrobat format and you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the reports. Visit our page to download Acrobat Reader.

Directions for Generating a List of Sonoma County LOP Sites or To Access Individual Site Information from the State GeoTracker Database:

Click on the GeoTracker (SWRCB Statewide Leaking UST Site Information) hyperlink above and then click on "MTBE/Case Reports" under "TOOLS" on the GeoTracker homepage. Choose Sonoma County LOP from "Select an Agency" menu and follow the subsequent steps. In the "Case Report" box choose Sonoma for "County" and choose your preferences for "Active/Inactive" and "Lead Agency." Select "Local Agency" for this Department's sites. Click on "Create Case Report" to generate the list of sites. Columns can be sorted by clicking on the column headings. Information on a particular site is found by clicking on the RB CASE # link on the left side of the page and on the subsequent links that are seen on the "Leaking Underground Fuel Tank Report." Although it is required that responsible parties of sites submit site information to GeoTracker, information may be lacking because GeoTracker is a relatively new data retrieval system. Regional Board lead sites are also available, but you must initially select the Regional Board in the "MTBE/Case Report" screen to get a complete listing.

Individual site information can also be accessed by clicking on "Site/Facility Finder" under "TOOLS" on the left side of the Geotracker homepage. Enter site information on the "Address Search" screen and click on "Search Records." Wildcards (*) may be used and successful searches can often be done with a minimal amount of entries.

Further case information may be obtained from the caseworker whose initials are listed by the "Lead Agency" on the Leaking Fuel Tank Report screen. Sonoma County LOP caseworkers with telephone numbers and email addresses are listed below under Staff.

Staff

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Sonoma County Local Oversight Program

Links:

Directions for Generating a List of Sonoma County LOP Sites or To Access Individual Site Information from the State GeoTracker Database:

Staff