MAPPING LUST IN LOS ANGELES

Prioritizing Leaking Underground Storage Tank Cleanup in Los Angeles County

By Rickey Russell

LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS (LUST) ARE A MAJOR SOURCE OF GROUNDWATR

CONTAMINATION IN CALIFORNIA

• 1 Cent of Every Gallon of Gas Goes Towards LUST Cleanup, $100 Million Annually

• Still, a Large Backlog of Cases Exist in California

• Over 10,000 Cases Statewide

• There is no Established System to Prioritize Site Cleanup Within the State

OVER 1500 OPEN CASES IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

750 Sites Have Been Identified as in Need of Cleanup…

… So a Methodology to Prioritize Cleanup of the LUST in LA is Needed

Maybe LUST is an Environmental Justice Issue and correlates with

Poverty Rates?

But it Seems the Location of LUST Shares a Stronger Correlation With

Density

Maybe Water is a Better Way to Prioritize LUST Cleanup?

Sources• LUST Data from State Water Control Board

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ust/

• Poverty and Density Data from ACS http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

• Shape Files From CAL Atlas http://atlas.ca.gov/