Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A Kentucky oil company faces a criminal investigation and possible $25,000-per-day fines for multiple environmental violations that have marred the local community, according to a report by Convenience Store News Online. Childers Oil Co., a petroleum vendor and operator of 45 convenience stores, is responsible for a serious oil sludge leak in November of last year and a diesel fuel leak February. According to government records, Childers Oil, which is based in the eastern Kentucky city of Whitesburg, has also been cited for at least 10 other violations since 1995.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a 3-1 vote, California’s State Water Resources Control Board approved legislation that will require motor fuels containing more than 20 percent biodiesel to be stored in above ground tanks. It seems strange that regular petroleum diesel can be stored in underground tanks while “green” fuel must be stored above ground for fear of leakage and possible environmental contamination. But California has a law mandating that underground storage tanks be independently certified as leak proof before they can be used to store  new types of fuel, such as high-grade biodiesels. That testing and certification process can take as long as three years.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that the U.S. Army has agreed to pay nearly $30,000 in civil penalties for violating the agency’s underground storage tank (UST) regulations. To help prevent future tank leakage, the Army also agreed to spend nearly $210,000 on upgrading its facilities at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a weapons testing facility in northeastern Maryland.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the 1960s, during some of the tensest years of the Cold War, the federal government gave fuel tanks and generators to radio broadcasters throughout the country. The program intended to give the radio stations a means to broadcast news and vital information in the event of an emergency. The Federal Communications Commission and the Civil Defense Preparedness Agency managed the program, which involved some 700 stations by 1979, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency was formed. Now, decades later, federal officials believe that hundreds of the tanks are leaking.

Read the rest of this entry »

With spills and leaks from storage tank systems that contain petroleum products continuing to pose significant health and environmental risks, the federal Department of the Environment proposed recently a new regulation to reduce the risk of contaminating soil and groundwater. The proposed Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations would replace the current Federal Registration of Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products on Federal Lands or Aboriginal Lands Regulations (SOR/97-10).

Read the rest of this entry »

Leaking underground fuel tanks threaten to contaminate drinking water, lakes, streams and homes across Iowa as environmental officials change rules to speed up detection and cleanup.

There are about 6,200 leaking underground storage tanks in the state — and more than 1,500 are considered ongoing contamination risks. Some of the leaking tanks have been problems for more than 15 years. Almost 820 are labeled high-risk.

Read the rest of this entry »