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Regulatory Guidance

A number of government agencies have put out guidance on siting of gas/fuel/service stations. This is a collection of some of those documents from various agencies.

If you have other suggested documents please email brandon@postpump.org

General Guidance

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services - Preventing Groundwater Contamination at Gas Stations – What Municipalities and Water Suppliers Can Do

Given the likelihood that UST systems will release gasoline constituents (most commonly in the form of vapor leaks from underground piping systems or overfills of the UST, vehicle tank or portable container) and the possibility that spilled fuel will be carried off the fueling area by stormwater, municipal officials interested in providing the highest possible level of protection for groundwater used for drinking water should consider restricting the siting of gas stations as they would any other land use that is likely to contaminate groundwater. If the municipality’s zoning ordinance prohibits the location of certain high- risk land uses in wellhead protection areas, aquifer protection areas, or other areas of high-value groundwater, gas stations should be considered for inclusion in the list of prohibited land uses.

Coltura, Matthew N . Metz and Janelle London - Governing the Gasoline Spigot: Gas Stations and the Transition Away from Gasoline

Gas stations are America’s largest carbon spigot, a leading source of neighborhood-based pollution, and a sacred cow. This Article takes a comprehensive look at gas stations through the lens of the climate crisis and the rise of electric vehicles, and proposes steps to improve and shrink the country’s gas station network in an environmentally and fiscally prudent manner. It argues that state and local government should regulate gas stations to advance their climate goals, reduce pollution of air, soil, and groundwater, improve public health, and save taxpayers money. They should require them to clean up their contaminated soils, install modern tanks and piping, and abide by strict limits on carcinogenic benzene emissions. They should also halt construction of new gas stations and eliminate subsidies for existing one