PURPOSE

(a) The legislature finds that leaking underground tanks storing certain hazardous, toxic, or otherwise harmful substances have caused and continue to pose serious groundwater contamination problems in Texas. (b) The legislature declares that it is the policy of this state and the purpose of this subchapter to: (1) maintain and protect the quality of groundwater and surface water resources in the state from certain substances in underground and aboveground storage tanks that may pollute groundwater and surface water resources; (2) require the use of all reasonable methods, including risk-based corrective action, to implement this policy; (3) promote the safety of storage vessels as defined in Section 26.3442, by adopting requirements for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of storage vessels, with the objective of protecting groundwater and surface water resources in the event of accidents and natural disasters; and (4) ensure that intermediate bulk container recycling facilities, as defined by Section 26.3445, are not located close to private residences.