On pollution caused by leaking underground fuel storage tanks — and South Carolina’s struggling cleanup program

3,000 Approximate number of S.C. sites waiting to be cleaned up

80 Percentage of S.C. groundwater contamination caused by the leaky tanks

25-30 Percentage of S.C. population that drinks from wells

8 Number of states that have a bigger backlog of contaminated sites than South Carolina

75 Percentage of S.C. sites that have waited at least a decade to be cleaned up

281 Average number of S.C. sites cleaned up each year from 2000-2007

147 Number of newly discovered leaks requiring clean up in the past fiscal year

$17 million to $19 million Amount S.C. cleanup fund receives annually from a half-cent tax on gasoline

$25 millionto $27 million Total amount needed each year for five years to clean up the worst sites, state and federal officials say

$8 million per yearover 5 years Amount DHEC officials told federal officials in 2007 they would ask lawmakers for

$278,000 Amount DHEC officials actually asked for

SOURCE: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency