Leaders must anticipate resistance to bold, new ideas
In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, the Ohio Department of Commerce began discussing the formalization of programs to regulate the safe operation of underground fuel storage tanks (USTs), in addition to the safe removal of aging, leaking tanks that contained petroleum and other hazardous substances. The early indication was that rules and regulations would be issued by a new subdepartment called the Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR).
Park districts and other public-property owners had previously buried USTs to fuel their fleets, most notably before World War II. There was little or no awareness that, as the tanks aged, they could leech their contents into the surrounding soil. As the Environmental Protection Agency grew in size and power, it began reviewing industry practices like burying USTs and found a need to organize and inventory all potential hazards.
