Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Rhode Island UST Fund

Quarterly Deadline for Disbursement #101: April 17, 2026

Disbursement #100 checks were mailed as of 3/11/2026

NOTICE: Resubmissions from Disbursement #99 will be accepted in Disbursement #101 due to the check processing delay from that round.

Applications for claims must be submitted by email by the end of the business day on the deadline date. Claim rounds occur quarterly, with rounds in January, April, July, & October.

What is the RI UST Fund?

The RI UST Financial Responsibility Fund is also referred to as the RI UST Fund. Owners/operators of USTs (underground storage tanks) are required to demonstrate "Financial Responsibility" to clean up any potential release from their USTs. RI DEM provides a way for these owners/operators to meet these requirements through the UST Fund.

Claims for reimbursement can be made after costs have been incurred in the process of remediating a release from an eligible UST. First-time applicants are encouraged to apply to the Fund as soon as a release has been identified. 

Find out if your UST is eligible by reviewing RI General Law: 46-12.9-6, Eligibility.  

  1. STEP 1: Apply to the Fund

    FIRST: Apply to see if your site is eligible for the Fund

    1. Submit Form 1: Compliance Application
    2. Submit Form 1a: Deductible Determination Application 

    3. Mail the required $150.00 application fee. The fee should be written as a check, made payable to the "RI General Treasury". This check must be mailed to RIDEM at 235 Promenade Street, Room 380, Providence, RI 02908. Make sure the check includes the site address, UST number, and LUST number. 

      Email all forms together to DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov. Notary Signatures may be completed electronically. 

      These applications are reviewed quarterly, in January, April, July, and October. The UST Fund Committee will send a letter informing you if the site is eligible for the UST Fund, and what the deductible owed will be.

    STEP 1 FORMS: Compliance Application & Deductible Determination

    • The Compliance Application (Form 1) review includes an examination of at least three years of compliance data prior to the release. As a result of the submission, UST owners may be required to resolve any non-compliance issues through the RIDEM enforcement processes, including correction of any deficiencies, entering legal agreements, and/or paying fines. The reimbursement process may continue once all compliance issues are resolved.
    • The Deductible Determination Application (Form 1a) provides information on location risk, and compliance history of the UST or UST System. The Department will determine whether the claimant is eligible for UST Fund Deductible Relief based on these forms and existing information from the UST Management Program to validate the information given by the claimant. 

  2. STEP 2: Initial Request for Reimbursement

    AFTER you have been admitted into the RI UST Fund, please follow the instructions below: 

    1. Submit Form 2: Request for Reimbursement
    2. Submit the Invoice Submission Form excel file

    3. Submit associated invoices supporting the Invoice Submission Form

      Email all forms together, to DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov. These submissions are accepted quarterly. Deadlines are posted at the top of the page, with claim rounds occurring in January, April, July, and October. 

    These forms are required every time you submit a claim to the RI UST Fund. 

    ITEMS TO NOTE:

    • Notary Signatures can be completed electronically when using Adobe.
    • Submit your request for reimbursement once $20,000 (or your determined deductible amount) of eligible costs related to the investigation and/or remediation of the release have been incurred.
    • Do not include copies of Groundwater Monitoring Reports, Site Investigation Reports, laboratory analysis, or daily time sheets.

    Completed forms must be e-mailed to: DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov.

    STEP 2 FORMS: Request for Reimbursement & Invoice Submission

  3. STEP 3: Returning Applicants and Resubmittals

    If you are continuing to request Reimbursement from the RI UST Fund, please follow the instructions below: 

    Returning Applicants

    1. Submit Form 2: Request for Reimbursement. Select that this application is a "supplemental" claim
    2. Submit the Invoice Submission Form excel file

    3. Submit associated invoices supporting the Invoice Submission Form

      Email all forms together, to DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov. These submissions are accepted quarterly. Deadlines are posted at the top of the page, with claim rounds occurring in January, April, July, and October. 

      These forms are required every time you submit a claim to the RI UST Fund. 

    ITEMS TO NOTE:

    • Returning Applicants can submit to the Fund until the limit of $1M per release ($2M aggregate) is reached.
    • Final Claims: A final claim submitted for reimbursement may be of any total amount. The submission must clearly be marked as Final on the Request for Reimbursement form.

    STEP 3 FORMS: Request for Reimbursement & Invoice Submission

    The review process results in a determination of the eligible, ineligible, and “No Backup” costs of the claim submittal. The Fund Committee may determine that a claim or invoice must be resubmitted due to costs that require more backup information, such as more detailed invoices. Resubmittals should include credible backup documentation detailing the charge so the Committee can properly determine its eligibility.

    • Costs marked as "No Backup" on a Claim Summary Detail Report, provided by the Committee on a reviewed claim, may be resubmitted in the next disbursement round.
      • “No Backup” costs may be resubmitted only once and must be submitted before the deadline immediately following the “No Backup” determination, regardless of the amount of supplemental costs.
    • Resubmittals are permitted once per disbursement round and may be submitted with the next disbursement round that occurs.
    • Resubmittal costs do not count toward the $5,000.00 minimum for supplemental applications.

Important Things to Note

  • All invoices for cleanup costs must be submitted within 24 months of being incurred. Otherwise, the reimbursement request will be denied. RIDEM has 90 days following the quarterly deadline to approve, deny, or modify requests for reimbursement

Questions? Email: DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov 

Useful Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

An owner/operator may apply to the Fund as soon as a release from a UST has been identified. 

  • Private parties, the state, cities, and towns are (potentially) eligible for reimbursement costs that have been incurred as a result of a leaking underground storage tank.
    • To receive reimbursement, one must be in compliance with the DEM's Rules and Regulations. 
    • An applicant must have incurred costs as a result of taking corrective actions, paying third-party claims, or otherwise incurring eligible costs as a result of a release of petroleum subject to the motor and special fuels tax. Additionally, the claimant must exhibit that they met their required deductible (range of $5,000 - $20,000) on eligible costs and expenses.

The standard required deductible that must be met before reimbursement can begin is $20,000 in eligible costs. 

  • Our Deductible Determination Application may grant applicants a lower deductible amount. This program considers a site's location and its compliance status to possibly reduce the standard required deductible. Two tiers of criteria will outline if an applicant is eligible for a $5,000 or $10,000 reduction to the deductible requirement. Ineligible applicants will remain subject to the $20,000 deductible. 

The deductible is satisfied through submitting documented eligible expenditures in your Initial Request for Reimbursement rather than a direct payment to the Fund.

Eligible costs refer to RI's State Law § 46-12.9-6, "for clean-up or related matters or for claims of third parties...resulting from a release of petroleum, subject to the motor and special fuels tax from an underground storage tank or underground storage tank system". 

The claim/disbursement process can take up to six months for an initial reimbursement; however, once eligibility is determined and a disbursement is made, a claim can be submitted every quarter for ongoing costs. Quarterly deadlines occur in January, April, July, and October. Specific deadline dates are posted at the top of this webpage. 

DEM has 90 days to review and approve or deny a claim, with an average processing time of 2-3 months from the claim submission to the issuance of a check to the applicant.

An owner/operator of a UST/UST system may receive up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) of eligible costs and expenses for a release and up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate for that site. 

Items should be submitted to the UST Fund via email at DEM.USTFund@dem.ri.gov. If necessary, items can be mailed to the following address: UST Fund Committee, 235 Promenade Street, Room 380, Providence, RI, 02908 . 

 

UST Statutes

Rhode Island General Law 46-12.9 establishes the Rhode Island Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Act. This is a law passed by the Rhode Island Government to cover the funding sources for the remediation of leaking underground storage tanks in the State of Rhode Island. Statutes may be amended.

UST Regulations

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) established by Congress in 1984, wrote and published regulations that require owners/operators of underground storage tanks to prevent, detect, and clean up releases. In 1996 Rhode Island became one of 31 states in the country approved by the EPA to manage its own underground storage tank management and clean-up program, and has currently completed 864 cleanups. See DEM's UST Regulations here: UST Regulations