Orphan Site Cleanup Fund (OSCF)

The Orphan Site Cleanup Fund (OSCF) is a grant program within the Division of Financial Assistance. OSCF provides financial assistance to eligible applicants for the cleanup of sites contaminated by leaking petroleum underground storage tanks where there is no financially responsible party, and the applicant is not an eligible claimant to the UST Cleanup Fund.

Effective September 25, 2014, provisions of Senate Bill 445 (Hill, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2014) made changes to the OSCF.

The law changed the eligibility criteria for OSCF grants and the maximum grant amount.

  • The OSCF program is no longer limited to funding only brownfield sites.
  • The maximum amount of grant monies available for an eligible occurrence is $1.5 million for grant applications filed before January 1, 2015.
  • The maximum amount of grant monies available for an eligible occurrence drops to $1 million for any grant application filed on or after January 1, 2015.

More information is available on the OSCF Fact Sheet.

OWNERS/OPERATORS OF SINGLE-WALLED USTS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Single-walled underground storage tanks (USTs) must be permanently closed by December 31, 2025. This requirement includes both single-walled tanks and nonexempt single-walled piping per California Health and Safety Code, chapter 6.7, section 25292.05. Single-walled UST systems that are not permanently closed by December 31, 2025 will be out of compliance and cannot be operated. Owners and/or operators will be subject to enforcement actions, including affixing red tags and pursuing civil penalties beginning January 1, 2026. For more information, please see the following Single Walled webpage.

OSCF General Information

OSCF Forms

Success Stories

See examples of OSCF success stories.

Questions or Comments?

For more information please email ustcleanupfund@waterboards.ca.gov.
Subject Line: OSCF

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