LUST is a serious problem in Yellowstone National Park. No, not THAT kind of LUST, but rather Leaking Underground Storage Tanks. And officials from the national park and the state of Wyoming have pledged to work together on cleaning up the problem.

There are seven sites inside the national park that are home to these environmental nightmares. One is at Canyon and can be found under the Park Service's maintenance shops. The other six are located on sites operated by concessionaires -- Bridge Bay Marina and service stations at Grant Village, Fishing Bridge, Lake, Canyon and the Old Faithful Lower Station.

At each of these sites, soil and/or groundwater contamination has been discovered. Officials say that in most cases this contamination is the result of natural wear and corrosion of underground storage tanks and pipes. Park Service officials say that ensuring the health of local ecosystems and park visitors is a main priority of Yellowstone and the National Park Service.

Remediation planning efforts have been spearheaded by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality as part of the department’s Storage Tank Program (STP), which cleans up releases from
regulated underground storage tanks statewide. The cost for Yellowstone National Park’s clean-up effort is estimated at $3.9 million and will be funded through an account specifically designated for such STP projects.

Contractors for the project have already been selected and the construction and installation of remediation and monitoring systems is slated to be completed by late fall. The NPS will provide technical expertise, logistical support and continued monitoring. Once in place, these systems will be maintained until monitoring shows that contamination levels have fallen into the range deemed acceptable by the State of Wyoming. That could take anywhere between 4 and 10 years to occur.