Federal environmental records suggest the UST cleanup money will be well spent. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania has 3,368 leaking underground storage tank cleanups in its backlog to be completed.

Pennsylvania spends $1.5 million per year on average for UST removals and cleanups. Federal and state governments made leaking USTs a priority in the 1980s, once they understood the number and scope of  environmental threats posed by hundreds of thousands of individual fuel leaks throughout the country.

Federal and state laws now require that all new USTs have double walls, corrosion resistance, and a leak detection system in place before being buried. All USTs are certified, registered, and regularly monitored by the state – all of which amount to an enormous and expensive undertaking.

Compounding the problem of leaking tanks are the cases in which owners of USTs can’t be located or are either unable or unwilling to foot the costs attached to UST removal, cleanup, and replacement, which can run between $200,000 and $250,000 per tank.

In such cases, the Pennsylvania’s DEP will prioritize tank removal and pay for the cost with public funds, recovering the money with legal action when it can.

The federal government won’t release funds for the remediation of leaking USTs until the state explains how the money will be used. Nearly every state received UST cleanup funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Pennsylvania puts federal dollars to use for UST cleanup, removal

Revisions to New Mexico’s storage tank regulations were necessary to comply with federal law, which requires a new section addressing operator training. According to Environmental Protection Division Director Jim Norton, “that part of the regulations will phase in required training of storage tank operators to ensure they understand environmental and emergency response requirements for facilities they operate.”

“The changes will also allow the department’s Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau to more efficiently and effectively administer the Corrective Action Fund,” New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said in a statement.

Federal regulations required states to implement the laws by August 8 of this year. New Mexico was the 10th state to adopt the revisions.

Curry added that the changes won’t affect the number of cleanups the state agency carries out, but they will make the process of dealing with leaks and contamination easier and faster.

A bill that would prevent the delivery of petroleum to storage tanks not in compliance with New Mexico’s leak prevention regulations will be reintroduced in the state legislature next year. The bill is expected to pass.

According to federal records, New Mexico contains 3,988 active underground storage tanks. There have been 2,524 confirmed leaks statewide. The state has completed 1,852 cleanups and an additional 672 cleanups await completion.

To read the Environment Department’s statement, click here.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › New Mexico improves underground storage tank regulations

The new regulations leave many Florida gas station owners worrying about the future of their businesses. The cost of replacing the tanks is extremely prohibitive, especially for the mom-and-pop operations. The average cost to replace a single underground storage tank is $250,000 – 300,000. Gas stations with multiple tanks can expect a bill of about $400,000.

Small, independent gas stations that want to stay in business will have a difficult time acquiring the financing for such costly upgrades, especially in the current credit-crunched market. Banks do not regard new underground storage tanks as upgrades that promise to pay off.

Even if gas stations with convenience stores choose to remain open without selling gas, federal and state laws still require them to hold substantial pollution insurance policies.

So why is Florida bullying small businesses with such tough laws, steep fines, and financial hardship?

Nearly all Floridians – 92% — rely on groundwater for everyday purposes, including drinking. With such heavy dependence on groundwater, protecting the natural aquifers from pollution and contamination is absolutely vital. Not protecting Florida’s natural water sources is, quite simply, not protecting the public health.

According to EPA records, some 14,000 USTs in Florida are leaking fuel and other contaminants into the ground. The agency has confirmed nearly 25,000 releases and says the state has already cleaned up about 11,000 leaking tanks.

Industry insiders expect that of the state’s 9,200 gas stations, 800 to 1,500 stores will have to close. 3,156 gas stations and other facilities with underground storage tanks (USTs) in Florida still require the upgrade.

Sources: http://www.leaking-storage-tank.com/news/2009/05/22/familys-water-contaminated-by-leaking-gas-station-tanks/ ; http://www.news-press.com/article/20090614/BUSINESS/906150308/1075

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Economy, regulations create tough times for Florida gas stations

The company agreed to pay $22,758 to settle alleged violations of UST regulations designed to prevent, detect, and control fuel leaks from underground tanks. With hundreds of thousands of USTs throughout the country leaking fuel and other hazardous substances, curbing environmental contamination caused by such releases is one of the EPA’s top initiatives.

According to EPA records, more than 3,000 known leaking USTs await cleanup in Pennsylvania alone. The agency has recorded cleanups of more than 11,000 tanks to date.

From May 2006 to Nov. 2007, the 7-Eleven in Cranberry Township failed to perform automatic line leak detector testing annually on four 8,000-gallon tanks holding gasoline and diesel fuel and one 5,000-gallon tank containing kerosene. The same location also failed to perform line tightness tests of underground piping on the 5 tanks for a few months in 2007.

The Pittsburgh location also failed to perform automatic line leak detector tests and line tightness tests on its 5 tanks from Dec. 1, 2003 to Aug. 2007, 3 months in 2006, and 2 months in 2007.

“As part of the settlement, the company neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations, but certified its compliance with applicable UST regulations. The settlement reflects the company’s cooperation with EPA’s investigation, and good faith compliance efforts,” the EPA announced.

“Leaking tanks are a major source of soil and groundwater contamination,” the EPA said in its statement. “EPA and state UST regulations are designed to reduce the risk of underground leaks and to promptly detect and properly address leaks which do occur, thus minimizing environmental harm and avoiding the costs of major cleanups,” the agency said.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › EPA settles with Penn company over multiple UST violations

According to the Attorney General, the gas station owners removed seven underground storage tanks from the property in December 1988. The state conducted an inspection at the time and found that petroleum had been released into the surrounding land and water. Whether the leak had occurred during the tank removal or before it was unclear, but the company failed to take the necessary corrective actions and filed deficient reports to the state.

Because the company failed to clean the contaminated site, it could have compromised the health and safety of the residents in this small north central Ohio community.

“For two decades the defendants in this case have refused to fully investigate and correct the problems on this site caused by the release of petroleum,” Cordray said. “This agreement takes the much-needed step forward toward resolving the environmental problems and protecting the health of nearby residents.”

Englefield Oil Co., the parent company of the Waldo Duchess station, refused full responsibility in the matter. “The principle activities resulting in the lawsuit occurred more than a decade ago and relate to the allegedly late or deficient submission of reports by our consultants,” Englefield spokesman Terry Swartz told the Convenience Store / Petroleum News.

“This property was acquired with the environmental issues unknown at the time of the purchase. Englefield Oil and its consultant do not believe the site at issue has caused any off-site environmental concern,” Swarz said.

Englefield Oil operates more than 150 locations containing underground storage tanks. Swarz said that the company “has always taken its environmental responsibility seriously and regrets that this action has occurred.”

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Ohio company penalized for 20-year-old gas leak

The County agreed to pay penalties of $4,600 for failing to maintain release detection records on three tanks between March and December 2007. The EPA also found that the county never performed automatic leak detection tests on two of the underground tanks between 2004 and 2007. Additionally, the EPA charged that county didn’t perform required line tightness testing on two of the underground storage tanks for 7 months in 2006 and 2007.

As part of its settlement with the EPA, Frederick County also agreed to install a $22,500 leak monitoring system on its above-ground tanks. According to the EPA, Frederick County will install the automatic tank monitoring system on one 12,000-gallon tank and 2 6,000-gallon tanks. The monitoring system will tie into a dedicated computer with software designed to track any fuel releases. Reliable monitoring of tanks, whether above ground or underground, leads to quicker and more efficient responses in the event of an accidental leak.

According to the EPA, the county “neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations, but certified its compliance with applicable UST regulations. The settlement reflects the county’s cooperation with EPA’s investigation, and good faith compliance efforts.”

“With millions of gallons of gasoline, oil, and other petroleum products stored in USTs throughout the U.S., leaking tanks are a major source of soil and groundwater contamination,” the EPA said in a statement about the settlement.

“EPA and state UST regulations are designed to reduce the risk of underground leaks and to promptly detect and properly address leaks which do occur, thus minimizing environmental harm and avoiding the costs of major cleanups,” the agency said.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Maryland county settles UST violations with EPA

At first the Trauds assumed the water’s bad odor and taste came from being unused, so they gave it the benefit of the doubt and waited a couple of weeks. To their surprise, the problem only grew worse.

The only apparent solution was to have the water tested by a lab, which cost the Trauds a few hundred dollars. When the results were in, the lab contacted David Traud and advised him not to use the water because it contained gasoline components. David called Holli, who was staying with family in North Carolina with their newborn son, and told her to remain where she was.

In the following weeks, the Trauds’ neighbors, David and Irene Mullins, also noticed a problem with the water from their well. Tests from Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality confirmed that both wells were “severely impacted” by fuel that had been leaking from an underground storage tank at the old gas station. Worse, the leak had been detected more than 10 years ago.

DEQ geologist Todd Pitsenberger told News & Arts that his agency tested the land around the buried tanks back in 1998 and concluded that “the release was relatively minor.” The DEQ took no action because there were no springs or wells in the immediate vicinity.

So when the Trauds built their home in 2007, the county health department issued permits for the construction of wells, unaware that the land was contaminated.

The UST leak, which county officials presumed to be small and relatively harmless, damaged the surrounding environment so severely that the Trauds and their neighbors still can’t drink their tap water. The DEQ installed filtration systems that make the water suitable for washing, but it is still not potable. The agency plans to install new wells this summer.

Cleanup of the site is expected to cost approximately $81,000, a small cost compared to the time, money, and aggravation the Trauds and their neighbors have endured, not to mention the health risks that exposure to fuel-contaminated water can cause.

Geologist Pitsenberger told the News & Arts that underground storage tanks are a big problem in this country. “They started putting tanks in the ground back in the ‘40s and ‘50s, and nobody really thought ‘These things are going to leak.’” In the 80s, however, the Environmental Protection Agency realized that the tanks did leak and that hundreds of thousands of them lay buried in the soil throughout the country, compromising both the health of the environment and the humans who consumed the contaminated water.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Family’s water contaminated by leaking gas station tanks

According to the North Bay Business Journal, many businesses in the San Francisco Bay area with leaking USTs in their charge are not being reimbursed for the mandatory removal and cleanup of the toxic leaking tanks. UST removal and cleanup is normally an expensive undertaking, easily costing tens of thousands of dollars depending on the size of the site and extent of environmental damage.

In Sonoma, Napa, and Marin Counties, a total of 552 leaking USTs have some form of open claim for cleanup work being performed. The claims represent work in various stages of completion. Most of the leaking tanks are in Sonoma County, which has 414 according to the state water board’s records. Marin County has 83 leaking tanks, and Napa has 56.

The water board had to suspend some 1,300 claims earlier this year because of an $80 million shortage in the fund. For active claims, the board decided to delay reimbursements by 18 months. The shortage has put a severe strain on many companies that do not have the capital or financial resources available to comply with the state’s codes without the government’s help. Companies with cleanup work in progress whose claims have been suspended are seeking bridge financing for work until the state’s funds are replenished.

One Eureka-based environmental project manager told the North Bay Business Journal that the lack of UST cleanup funds is having a ripple effect on his industry. “The slowdown in tank cleanup reimbursement affects not only site owners and but also the flow of work for environmental consulting firms and the subcontractors they work with, such as analytical laboratories and well drillers,” the Business Journal reported.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST), California has a backlog of nearly 11,500 leaking tanks awaiting cleanup. Even the slowest leaking tanks can release several gallons of fuel and other hazardous substances into the surrounding land each year, polluting millions of gallons of water and tons of soil.

The water board is currently assembling a task force comprised of environmental consultants, tank owners and operators, and regional water board members that will explore ways to reform and hopefully fix the state’s depleted UST fund.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › California’s UST cleanup funds have dried up

The November incident occurred when oil waste from a Childers Oil facility permeated the Kentucky River just one mile upstream from the city’s water plant. Then, in February, massive amounts of diesel fuel were released from numerous storage tanks belonging to Childers. The diesel leak exposed area residents to contaminated water for a 10-day period, during which time the city could only warn them not to cook, drink, or bathe in the water.

The state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet filed a lawsuit against Childers Oil and a related company, Mountain Rail Properties. Both companies are owned by the same family. The attorneys have also asked the Franklin, Kentucky, Circuit Judge to issue an injunction that would bar Childers Oil from allowing any future petroleum leaks. A violation of the injunction would lead to the company being held in contempt of court.

“It is the personal right of the citizens of Letcher County to live in a safe environment and to have clean drinking water,” state attorneys were quoted as saying in the CSNews Online report.

Many area residents remain suspicious of the oil company after its record of environmental violations was released. According to Lexington Herald-Leader, the company’s violations include “improperly burning debris; improperly dumping construction waste, including construction debris; leaking or improperly registered and upgraded underground fuel storage tanks; sewage station overflow; and not filing correct monitoring reports.”

According to CSNews Online, an employee of Childers told a state inspector in one of the earlier cases that the company owner, Don Childers, instructed him to burn various waste materials with ‘used motor oil from the shop’ behind the Wal-Mart in Whitesburg. Childers told the employee not to make a big fire, and that he would run over the site with a bulldozer later.

The company’s owners, however, say that they are cooperating with the state and that litigation isn’t necessary. They also say they love their city and are proud to serve it.

Ironically, Childers Oil is sponsoring an event called “River Sweep 2009,” an environmental event held by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission to clean up area riverbanks.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Kentucky oil company repeatedly damages environment, sued by state

The rule came about after California experienced a series of massive environmental disasters stretching back 30 years – disasters that  involved underground storage tanks releasing tons of hazardous liquids into the land and water. Now, to play it safe, the state wants no doubt that even the newest, double-walled tanks can handle new types of fuel without sprouting leaks.

The decision has caused an outcry among gas stations that sell biodiesel, consumers who buy it, companies that make it, and environmentalists who advocate it – all of whom claim the move represents a step backward for California’s green movement.

One biodiesel dealer in San Jose told the Mercury News that the legislation requiring above-ground tanks kills his biodiesel business. “I’m not going to do that. I have no place to put them. And you are talking about $50,000 or more to buy the tank and put the monitoring system on it,” Bob Brown told the Mercury News. He added that he would continue to sell B5 to B20 biodiesel blends, as they can be stored in the USTs, but that he would discontinue selling B99, B50, and other high-grade bio blends.

Bill Rukeyser, a spokesman for the state water board, defended the state’s decision. Rukeyser told the Mercury News that California had to err on the side of caution. “We learned a real lesson. We’ve not forgotten that lesson. We don’t want to repeat that,” Rukeyser said.

Biodiesel consists of plant oils and recycled animal fats. The fuel’s “B” number indicates its percentage of environmentally friendly oils. The higher the number, the purer the fuel is and the cleaner it is to burn.

Although biodiesel has been available in California for 10 years, federal tax incentives led to a surge in the fuel’s popularity between 2005 and 2008, when demand for it grew ten times.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › New UST law may kill California’s biodiesel business

None of the plaintiffs have appeared in court since the case opened in April of 1999. Montgomery County judge Maurino Rossanese Jr. bifurcated their civil lawsuit, preventing the plaintiffs from appearing before a single jury. An attorney for the plaintiffs has appealed the judge’s decision to split up the case, but the appeal has not been ruled on.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Christine Fisher, one of the plaintiffs, told The Times Herald. She described her experience a “nightmare.” Fisher and her husband were using the contaminated water, which smelled and tasted like normal water, for everything from drinking and cooking to bathing and swimming. Fisher’s husband grew seriously ill and nearly died. Their horse, goat, and two cats weren’t as fortunate. The animals had been drinking from a contaminated pond and died from poisoning.

The contamination occurred after the owner of the Gulf station installed underground storage tanks. Manufacturer defects allowed fuel to leak through the tank lines, and the leak detection system on the tanks malfunctioned. Estimates on the amount of fuel that leaked before the problem was discovered range from 12,000 gallons to 50,000 gallons. The leakage was so severe that fuel collected in a well across the street caused the well house to explode.

In addition to the lingering health problems many residents of Blue Bell face, residents also worry that their homes and property have become almost worthless. Many communities once affected by an environmental disaster carry a stigma long after the land has been cleaned.

“You can’t sell a house here now,” Fisher told The Times Herald.

Plaintiffs staged a protest outside the Montgomery County Courthouse Monday in an effort to bring attention to the unsettled cases.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Penn community seeks justice years after massive fuel leak

Congress established UST regulations in 1984 as part of a nationwide effort to protect the nation’s soil and natural water supplies from contamination caused by leaking USTs. Hundreds of thousands of tanks holding fuel and other environmentally hazardous substances lay buried throughout the country. Many of the older tanks are constructed with single layer steel walls that are highly corrosive and prone to leaking.

The 28 USTs at the Army’s facility in Aberdeen range in capacity from 600 to 25,000 gallons and are used to store gasoline, fuel oil, diesel, and JP-8 jet fuel. According to the EPA, the Army was cited for its failure to test the tanks’ line leak detection system, failure to keep tank release detection records, failure to install spill and overfill protection equipment, and failure to perform tank release and line lease detection. The EPA strictly regulates all USTs within national boundaries because the environmental risks they pose are so high. Just one leaking UST can contaminate billions of gallons of fresh water and soil.

According to the EPA, the Army has removed the USTs and replaced them with above ground storage tanks. The facility is now in compliance with UST regulations.

The EPA found record numbers of UST violations by government agencies last year. The agency settled nearly 40 cases involving federal facilities  and filed another 3 complaints in 2008. Penalties leveraged against the federal government, combined with the cost of cleanup projects, totaled more than $1.3 million.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › EPA cites Army for UST violations

Beasley Allen

In August of 2007, Taylor and her husband noticed the strong odor of gasoline on their property, accompanied by a petroleum sheen on the surface water that had accumulated on the property. They contacted the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for assistance. ADEM sent an environmental contractor to Taylor’s property to install monitoring wells and collect soil and water samples.

The testing revealed that fuel from the Speedmart’s tanks had been released, extensively contaminating the plaintiff’s soil, surface water, and groundwater with a number of highly toxic chemicals. Levels of the chemicals benzene and MTBE exceeded the maximum contaminant level in the collected samples.

The lawsuit alleges that the Speedmart’s leaking UST caused substantial and permanent loss of value to Taylor’s property. According to the suit, the defendants were responsible in making sure their fuel tanks were leak-proof, which they failed to do in 2007 and previously in June of 1998. The lawsuit charges Chatham Oil with negligence, wantonness, trespass, nuisance, and strict liability in failing their duty to properly maintain and inspect the USTs.

The removal and cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks is a main initiative of the Environmental Protection Agency, which recently received $200 million in federal stimulus money to allocate amongst states, territories, and Indian land for UST inspection and cleanup.

The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of USTs beneath its cities, towns, and suburbs. A hole the size of a pinhead will allow as much as 400 gallons of fuel to leak through the walls of a UST in just one year, contaminating 400 million gallons of fresh water.

Read the complaint.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Alabama woman sues oil company over land contaminated by leaky UST

“TravelCenters of America has knowingly and repeatedly disregarded California’s underground fuel storage laws for years,” attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. told the Central Valley Business Times.

According to the CVBT, Riverside, California, District Attorney Rod Pacheco filed a similar suit against TravelCenters in July of last year, alleging the company violated multiple state regulations governing the possession of underground storage tanks, which almost always store fuel and other hazardous substances. Whereas the Riverside lawsuit focused on TravelCenters in that county, the latest lawsuit names TravelCenter’s facilities statewide.

Responding to the Riverside County lawsuit last year, TravelCenters called the laws unconstitutional. The company also claimed that federal laws pre-empted California’s laws, and that the state’s regulations violate due process.

According to the CVBT, the Riverside Department of Environmental Health periodically inspected USTs at the TravelCenters facility in Riverside County over a number of years. The officials found numerous violations of California’s underground storage tank laws, yet the company ignored repeated warnings to fix most of the problems.

California has some of the strictest environmental protection standards in the country, which often exceed those established by the federal government. While critics say that California’s laws are too tough on big business, the truth is that stricter regulations compel the automotive, fuel, and other industries to develop better, cleaner technology. Where regulations are too lax, manufacturers often land in court defending their products while people become harmed or killed.

Legal defeats can be extremely costly for defendants, especially if punitive damages are imposed. But money talks. Those costly penalties ultimately persuade big corporations to boost their own standards, which may involve implementing simple and inexpensive modifications or investing in developing entirely new and innovative technologies. As technology evolves and products improve,  the earth benefits. People benefit.

Instead of complying with the same state laws to which other gas stations adhere, TravelCenters now faces paying “the statutory maximum of $25,000 in civil penalties for each day of each violation, which could amount to millions of dollars in penalties,” the CVBT report says.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › California sues truck stop chain for UST violations

According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, the agency is “providing immediate growth opportunities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water.”

“EPA is putting people to work by serving our core mission of protecting human health and the environment,” Jackson explained.

Hundreds of thousands of storage tanks are buried throughout the country. Many of the tanks, some of which are several decades old, continue to leak fuel and other environmentally hazardous substances into the soil and groundwater. A hole the size of a pin head can release as many as 400 gallons of fuel into the ground and water table in one year, and 1 gallon of fuel renders 1 million gallons of water unpotable for humans and wildlife.

Nearly half of all Americans get their drinking water from underground sources – a fact that makes the identification and removal of leaking USTs imperative.

Removal of a leaking tank and cleanup of the contaminated area is a typically an expensive task. While liability for the tanks (and all removal and cleanup costs) normally falls on the tank owners, sometimes the EPA has to assume the expense of assessing, removing tanks, and cleaning up when the “responsible party is unknown, unwilling, unable, or the cleanup is an emergency response.”

Nearly $191 million of the stimulus money will go to all U.S. states and territories for leaking UST removal and environmental cleanup. $6.3 million will fund assessment and cleanup of sites in Indian territory. $3 million will be retained by the EPA for management and oversight.

Click here for more Information about UST program funding and the EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act .

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › EPA receives $200 million in stimulus money for UST removal, cleanup

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency administers the UST Fund, which the agency established in 1989 to help tank owners and operators pay for cleanup of their leaking USTs. Even just the smallest hole in an underground tank can leak up to 400 gallons of fuel in one year, contaminating the surrounding soil and groundwater.

The more extensive the environmental contamination, the more it generally costs to clean the surrounding land. Cleanup costs can be prohibitively expensive for many private tank owners.

The state’s UST fund is sustained by a $0.003 per-gallon fuel tax and an $0.008 per-gallon environmental impact fee, which amounts to $60 per 7,500 gallons of fuel sold by vendors. The fund has paid out more than $800 million since its inception, but became effectively insolvent in recent years when the former governor used $54 million of its funds for other purposes.

Speaking on the House floor, Cavaleto said that sweeping money from the fund had hurt people who deserved compensation from it.

One such person is Jay Koch, the owner of United Science Industries, a company that the state contracted to clean up multiple LUST sites. The state of Illinois owes Koch nearly $20 million for work performed since 2007.

Mr. Koch, who testified to the committee in support of House Bill 770, spoke about how the depleted fund has put a strain on his company.

“It’s forced me to take on their debt,” Koch told the Mt. Vernon Register-News in March. “The state has forced their debts onto the balance sheet of business and small business. It’s very disheartening. Unlike a private party, who, if they fail to pay you, you have some recourse against, the way our state system is set up, we don’t have any recourse against the state. We’re forced to sit on the side and deal with whatever they throw at you. They don’t have to play by the same rules they set up for everyone else.”

Cavaletto’s bill has passed the Illinois House and will go before the Senate.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Bill to protect UST funds passes Illinois House

Underground storage tank

The Navajo inspectors are also authorized to issue citations for tanks that do not meet federal EPA criteria for safety. Fines for problematic tanks, normally ranging from $500 to $3,000, encourage tank owners to bring and keep their tanks into compliance with U.S. regulations.

Federally recognized Native American tribes exist as sovereign entities, yet they are still subject to federal laws. According to the EPA’s UST / LUST National Native American Lands directive, “Underground storage tanks located on tribal lands generally are not subject to state laws. As a result, unless a state acts as a tribe’s agent pursuant to a formal agreement with a tribe, EPA and the tribe are responsible for implementing and enforcing the UST program on tribal lands.”

The EPA estimates that approximately 6,000 USTs are buried on Native American land. Most of the USTs on native lands are concentrated in the western half of the country, especially in the EPA’s Region 8, which includes the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Tanks buried on Navajo land are generally concentrated in the Arizona, California, and Nevada region in an area about the size of West Virginia. EPA estimates there are 200 tanks on Navajo land.

Preventing underground storage tanks from leaking is one of the EPA’s top priorities. Such tanks usually hold fuel, motor oil, and other environmentally hazardous substances. In just one year, 400 gallons of fuel can be released into the ground and water from a single hole the size of a pinhead. Just one gallon of fuel will make one million gallons of water unsafe for human and animal consumption. Hundreds of thousands of USTs are buried throughout the country, many of them older, single-layered steel tanks that have corroded over time.

The EPA hopes that its pilot program on the Navajo Nation will serve as a model for other tribes nationwide.

New storage tanks must be equipped with spill and overfill protection and leak detection equipment. They must also be double lined and made of corrosion-resistant polymers. Leaks and spills that are promptly detected are far easier and less expensive to clean up, the EPA says.

Source: http://www.eponline.com/articles/71515/

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › EPA trains Navajo Nation UST inspectors

Modern gas pumps are fitted with vapor-recovery boots on their nozzles, which help control the amount of vaporized fuel that leaks into the air. A similar device recovers vapors that are released when tankers fill a station’s underground storage tanks. However, faulty recovery devices allow toxic chemicals such as hydrocarbon fumes and benzene to enter the air in substantial amounts.

These airborne chemicals have been linked definitively to a slew of respiratory ailments and cancer by the National Institutes of Health. Not surprisingly, California leads the rest of the country in adopting standards that exceed the federal level. Today the state begins implementing tougher vapor recovery regulations, which require gas stations to equip their nozzles with better vapor recovery devices.

Gas stations with attached auto repair shops are doubly dangerous. Spilled or leaking antifreeze, lead products, and other solvents can contaminate the surrounding air, soil and water over time. The brakes and clutches of certain vehicles contain asbestos, which can be released into the atmosphere. As long as motor vehicles rely on these hazardous substances to run, humans will always be exposed. The key to minimizing the effects of exposure is to support better environmental regulations. Pressuring auto manufacturers and oil companies to develop alternative ways to fuel up is another strategy for a cleaner, safer future.

Source: http://www.emagazine.com/

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › gas stations illustrate need for tougher environmental regulations

The report explains that a few old fuel tanks were uncovered beneath the town hall during the construction phase. Workers allegedly punctured at least one of the tanks while they were being removed, spilling oil and other toxic substances all over the property. Plaintiffs claim that construction commenced on the site before anyone investigated the possible presence of USTs or conducted an appropriate environmental assessment of the property.

Construction workers unearthed seven tanks at the site. The tanks are believed to be roughly 70 years old – remnants of an old gas station and car dealership that once occupied the site. One thousand-gallon tank containing groundwater and fuel ruptured after it was hit by a piece of construction equipment. Another tank containing motor oil also spilled into the ground.

A company was called in to remove the contaminated soil after workers discovered the leak. Tons of soil were removed from the site, but cleanup stopped before the structural foundation of the restaurant was threatened.

David and Philip Pontillo, owners of the pizza chain, say that their restaurant has suffered from lost profits because of the contamination. They also claim that their property value has fallen. Negotiations between the two sides are ongoing, MPNnow reports.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › NY pizza chain sues town for pollution caused by leaking USTs

According to the report, 442 people in the southern Colorado town of Alamosa became violently ill after drinking the city’s tap water, which tests revealed to be positive for a potent strain of the salmonella virus. A survey conducted in the community, however, found that 20 percent of Alamosa’s residents, about 2,000 people, experienced gastrointestinal illness at the time of the salmonella outbreak.

Alamosa, like many small towns throughout the country, draws water for the municipal supply from deep underground aquifers. Water drawn from aquifers is purified by natural processes, thereby eliminating or at least diminishing the need to chlorinate the water.

The process is perfectly safe, unless the clean water is diverted to an underground storage tank containing several holes and cracks, which was the case in Alamosa.

According to health inspectors who examined the tank, farm animals likely defecated on the ground over or near the water tank. As winter snow melted, toxic salmonella bacteria from the feces entered the holes and cracks in the concrete tank.

The salmonella bacteria debilitated many residents of the town, some of whom missed days or weeks of work. Salmonella typically hits younger children and older adults the hardest. In Alamosa, the outbreak is blamed for the death of 55-year-old Larry Velasquez, whose body was already weakened by previous illness.

Although dozens of claims have been filed against the city, many of the city’s residents will have no legal recourse. Colorado state law sets a six-month deadline for filing damage claims against municipalities. The outbreak in Alamosa occurred last year.

Don Koskelin, Alamosa’s public-works director, told the Denver Post that state inspectors who analyzed Alamosa’s water system prior to the outbreak failed to check the underground tank carefully.

“Did he do a detailed inspection of the tank? No, he did not,” Koskelin told the Denver Post.

Colorado’s drinking water program manager, Ron Falco, told the Post that the inspector failed to inspect the tank because a city operator told him that the drinking water system would be replaced in six months.

Alamosa now has a new drinking water distribution system. It also chlorinates all of the tap water.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Contaminated water from UST sickens Colorado town

“This water tastes funny,” former Marine John Hartung remembers thinking when he spent 6 months at Camp Lejeune in 1977, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They said that’s how it tastes down here,” Hartung told the Journal Sentinel.

After months of drinking the water on base and showering and swimming in it, Hartung developed cysts on his neck. He also started noticing that many other fellow Marines were afflicted with cysts and rashes. More than 30 years later, Hartung battles chronic fatigue and other ailments that prevent him from working.

Now it’s Hartung’s mission to spread the word about Camp Lejeune’s toxic past. He launched a website that seeks to educate others about the problem.

“I want to see people get their benefits and to say, ‘I was poisoned, but at least they took care of me and my family,’” Hartung told the Journal Sentinel.

Research of the camp’s water problems yielded some disturbing patterns in the health of those who once lived at the camp. Incidences of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses in children born on base were much higher during the period of time when the groundwater was tainted.

The Marines Corps is working to contact everyone who might have been affected by the poisonous water. It has established a website and call center to handle the issue. It is also getting the word out through direct mail, coordinating with local and national media, and informing veterans groups.

The full Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, which includes accounts of other Marines sickened by Camp Lejeune’s water supply, can be viewed here.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Camp Lejeune’s toxic water supply may have sickened half a million

“I feel very strongly that dedicated funds should be left alone so they can serve the purpose they were meant to serve,” John Cavaletto (R-Salem) told the House Government Committee, according to a report in the Mt. Vernon Register-News.

“Here we have honest, hard working people doing a service for our state in cleaning up dangerous leaking storage tanks and the State of Illinois refuses to honor its obligations. Something needs to be done to ensure that these people are getting paid for the work they do on behalf of the state.”

According to the Register-News, Cavaletto’s documents indicated that more than $54 million has been siphoned from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank fund since 2003, the year that Rod Blagojevich became the 40th governor of Illinois.

Jay Koch, owner of United Science Industries, had the opportunity to confront Blagojevich in November of last year. Blagojevich promised Koch reimbursements, but shortly after the encounter, the governor was arrested and booted from office.

“It’s forced me to take on their debt,” Koch told the Register-News. “The state has forced their debts onto the balance sheet of business and small business. It’s very disheartening. Unlike a private party, who, if they fail to pay you, you have some recourse against. The way our state system is set up, we don’t have any recourse against the state. We’re forced to sit on the side and deal with whatever they throw at you. They don’t have to play by the same rules they set up for everyone else,” Koch said in the Register-News report.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 17,188 leaking underground storage tank cleanups have been completed in Illinois. However, nearly 7,000 known leaking tanks remain in the backlog awaiting cleanup.

If Illinois has spent all its LUST funds for other purposes, where will it get the money to remove the tanks that continue to pollute the surrounding soil and water? Assuming Koch’s company can stay afloat in all of the state’s bad debt, he may find some relief with the passage of a new Illinois state bill that amends the Environmental Protection Act and would prohibit the sweeping of money from one state fund to another. While the bill wouldn’t necessarily replenish funds already moved and spent or make Illinois current on payments, it could spell much future work for United Science Industries. Also, a protected LUST fund would in turn protect Illinois residents and wildlife from exposure to environmental toxins.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Leaking underground tank funds used for other purposes in Illinois

Single wall steel tanks are prone to corrosion, especially when they contain highly caustic liquids such as fuel. With hundreds of thousands of leaking storage tanks buried underground throughout the country, identifying and removing the tanks has been a major initiative of the US Environmental Protection Agency and many state environmental agencies.

The cost of replacing the tanks, however, is extremely prohibitive – especially for the mom and pop operations. The average cost of replacing a single underground storage tank is $250,000. Gas stations with multiple tanks can expect a bill of about $400,000. Aside from the expense itself, the trouble for many small and independent gas station owners is acquiring financing for the job.

“Even banks that our stations have had a long relationship with are not going to loan them $250,000 for an asset that nobody can see,” said one gas station owner to the Orlando Sentinel, adding that in the bank’s eyes, the upgrade would not result in greater income.

The requirement has caused the value of older gas stations to plummet. Any new owners would have to replace the tanks before they could sell gas. If they chose not to sell gas, the new owners would still be liable for the old tanks. Federal law requires station owners to have a $1 million insurance policy. At the same time, many underwriters have stopped insuring stations with single-wall tanks, forcing some stations to stop selling gas or close their doors.

According to Mike Ashley of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, gas station owners have had ample time to prepare for the big switch. He reminded all facilities requiring upgrades that the upgrade rules have been in effect since 1991 – ample time to prepare and comply.

Gas station owners hoping there might be a reprieve or extension of the Dec. 31 deadline are likely to be disappointed. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has not granted an extension for upgrades since 1983, when it became one of the first states to establish UST regulations.

Even a very slow leak from a UST is an environmental hazard. Just one gallon of fuel will contaminate one million gallons of water and the surrounding soil, endangering the health of humans and wildlife.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Deadline looms for Florida gas station underground storage tanks

“The fumes were so bad I got a headache after visiting for 30 minutes,” Wray’s attorney told the Muncie Star Press.

The Star Press reports that 6,300 LUST sites have been cleaned up statewide since 1988. Barry Sneed, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), told the paper that the LUST section of his agency is in the process of addressing some 2,400 additional sites where leaking tanks are believed to be contaminating the surrounding land and water. He also said that IDEM receives roughly 200 reports of new leaks and spills every year.

IDEM’s cleanup plan for the area near Wray’s home calls for the removal of 3,220 tons of fuel-contaminated soil.

Sneed told the Star Press that IDEM has not taken any punitive action against the owners of the affected property. He said the responsible party is cooperating fully to assist authorities in the evaluation and cleanup. The owners are also submitting remediation plans for IDEM’s review.

Nearly half a million underground tanks throughout the United States have had confirmed leaks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Many have been cleaned up, but more than 100,000 of the known LUSTs are awaiting removal and cleanup.

A vaporous gasoline odor in the basement of your home is often a telltale sign that your property might be contaminated by a LUST.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Indiana man sues after leaking fuel tank forces him out of house

Cleanup efforts

The city is also using $50,000 in voter-approved funds for investigation and cleanup of the property. A hazardous waste disposal company called Clean Harbors is removing about 60 cubic yards of fuel-contaminated soil from around the area where the gas pumps once stood.

The city of Marshfield acquired the property in 2003 when the former owner failed to pay the property taxes.

Lauren Konetznv, an engineer working at the site, said that the groundwater in the area of the old gas station is also contaminated with fuel. The water should clean up quickly, however, once the soil has been removed, she said. Engineers will drill six test wells next week to retest the water, which will be monitored repeatedly for the next several months. Because the polluted land sits in proximity to an old well, it must meet drinking water standards even though the well hasn’t been used for years.

Marshfield’s administrator, Rocco Longo, said that the city can proceed with park plans.

“What’s left now is for us to initiate a planning process for us to turn it into some kind of park or green space for the downtown,” he told the Patriot Ledger. “It might not be bad to have a little green space.”

A local memorial fund says on its website that it will create a park on the land and call it “Dandelion Park,” in memory of Molly Fitzgerald, a 14-year-old who died in June 2006.

“The Molly Fitzgerald Memorial Fund is undertaking our largest project to date in 2008. We will take what is now an ugly vacant lot in the middle of downtown Marshfield and turn it into a beautiful park in honor of Molly and all the other children who have died too early,” the website says.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Massachusetts town converts fuel-contaminated land into park

The faulty UST is located at the city’s marina, where it is used to store fuel. Hannibal’s marina and docks, situated on the western edge of the Mississippi River, are an essential part of the historic community, which every year draws thousands of tourists from around the world.

Faulty USTs are an enormous environmental problem in the United States. Records kept by the Environmental Protection Agency indicate that hundreds of thousands of tanks throughout the country have leaked or continue to leak fuel and other hazardous substances. Just one gallon of fuel will pollute one million gallons of water — a sobering fact considering Hannibal’s faulty tank sits on America’s most vital waterway.

According to a report in the Quincy Herald-Whig, regulators cited Hannibal for three violations: failure to properly conduct and maintain corrosion protection; failure to comply with temporary closure requirements; and failure to permanently close a substandard underground storage tank.

Chris Atkinson, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, told the Herald-Whig that last summer’s floods are to blame for the tank’s condition. During the floods, electricity that ran a 24-hour monitoring system on the gas dock was cut off. Electricity also powered a system that protected the tank’s pipes from rusting. The flood also removed the gas dock from its moorings, thereby forcing the city to disconnect electrical and gas lines.

To fix the problem, Hannibal can stop selling gas at the marina completely, install an above-ground tank, or install a new UST. Whatever is done, the solution will prove to be costly. Putting in a new UST would cost approximately $50,000.

“No matter what we do, there’s going to be a cost, and frankly none of this is in the budget,” Atkinson told the Herald-Whig.

The city is currently repairing the flood-damaged docks, a project that FEMA estimates will cost more than $240,000. That total, however, does not include replacing the old UST.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › ‘Tom Sawyer’ city cited for underground storage tank violations

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that there are 623,319 USTs in the United States and its territories. Of those USTs, there have been 479,817 “confirmed releases” or leaks and 377,019 completed cleanups. That leaves a national total of 102,798 known leaking tanks awaiting removal and cleanup.

Even the slowest dripping tanks can pollute millions of gallons of groundwater. It takes just one gallon of fuel to contaminate one million gallons of water. It doesn’t matter whether you get your water from a municipal reservoir or a well on your property; your water supply could be at risk of contamination by leaking USTs in your area.

Fortunately, there are some telltale signs that an underground tank may be leaking. Business owners with USTs and individuals alike should be aware of these signals. Early detection can help prevent major health and environmental problems.

• You or other people smell escaped product or see anything like an oily sheen on water near the facility
• Your neighbors complain of vapors in their basements or about water that tastes or smells like petroleum.
• Someone reports unusual operating conditions at your facility, such as erratic behavior of the dispensing pump.
• You receive or generate results from leak detection monitoring and testing that indicate a leak.

If you suspect that a UST is leaking, you should immediately notify the appropriate agency for your state or region. Tanks located in Indian Country should be reported to the EPA Regional UST program office.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Do you live near a leaking underground storage tank?

The old tanks are made of steel, which is highly corrosive. The underground tanks were especially prone to rust, thereby allowing the fuel to leak out into the surrounding earth.

Pat Coyne, director of business development for Environmental Data Resources, Inc. said that steel tanks tend to rot like “Swiss cheese,” according to a report by the Associated Press.

The rusting tanks and other programs once administered by the Civil Defense Preparedness Agency became FEMA’s responsibility after the agency was formed. Decades later, the agency is still trying to inventory the tanks it owns – now numbering more than 2,000. The agency still doesn’t know the exact geographical locations of some of the tanks, whether they are above ground or underground, or whether they are leaking. The paper trail tied to the tanks spans several decades and hands. No evidence to date suggests that these government-owned underground storage tanks (USTs) have created environmental or health problems because of leakage.

But the government tanks, which FEMA and the FCC have tossed back and forth like a hot potato of  responsibility, are just one part of a much more massive problem: the existence of more than half a million USTs holding fuel and oil buried throughout the country. No one knows exactly how many of the tanks could be leaking.

USTs that leak diesel or other fuel can easily contaminate the groundwater. It takes just one gallon of diesel fuel to effectively contaminate one million gallons of water, putting people at risk for cancer, kidney damage, nervous system disorders and a number of other health hazards.

FEMA has worked to repair and or replace some of the tanks since the 1990s. Others have been removed or filled with sand. But many of the tanks, including many suspected leakers, have yet to be removed. More modern tanks must be made of leak-proof polymers and have a leak detection system.

FEMA spokesman Dan Stoneking told the AP that it is working to fix the problem of all the leaking tanks under its jurisdiction. “We are committed to upholding our obligations to remediate, remove or upgrade them as necessary,” he told the AP. “We believe in adhering to any relevant environmental rule or law and will do so.”

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › leaking fuel tanks: a cold war legacy