PHILADELPHIA -- The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that 11 gas stations in Baltimore and the surrounding county have agreed to pay civil penalties and come into compliance with Clean Air Act regulations. These stations are located in Baltimore, Cantonville, Curtis Bay, Gwynn Oak, Owings Mills, Randallstown, Reisterstown, and Timonium, Md.
EPA cited the stations for a variety of alleged violations that could release harmful volatile organic compounds into the air as customers fill up their gasoline tanks and when gasoline is delivered to the stations. Volatile organic compounds contribute to ground-level ozone pollutants.
The alleged violations include failure to use federally approved pump nozzles that recover gasoline vapors, failure to repair damaged or defective pump nozzles, failure to remove the overflow of gasoline spilled while delivering it to storage tanks, failure to repair damaged storage system caps and piping, failure to provide adequate training and instructions to the operators of the gasoline dispensing facilities, failure to maintain records of system operation and failure to have signs posted on how to use the systems with a telephone number to call if there is a problem. The alleged violations all relate to gasoline vapor recovery systems.
These alleged violations were found during EPA inspections in February 2008. The stations have agreed to pay $12,500 in civil penalties, with individual station penalties from $500 to $1,500. As a part of expedited settlements, the parties have certified they will come into compliance with federal air requirements for vapor recovery and control, and did not contest the penalties.
The stations are:
Unique Services Inc., Randallstown. SMO Inc., Cantonville. SMO Inc., dba Nicholes Fleet Street Shell, Baltimore. SMO Inc., Reisterstown. SMO Inc., dba Greenspring Shell, Baltimore. Gursharan Sawhney, Curtis Bay. Carroll Independent Fuel Co., dba Margate Sunoco, Timonium. PMA Real Estate LLC, dba Painters Mill BP Auto Center, Owings Mills. S.P. Marketing LLC, dba Russell Street BP, Baltimore. Two Farms Inc., dba Royal Farms 86, Baltimore. Choes' CITGO, Gwynn Oak.
Baltimore City and the rest of the county is the fourth area in which EPA's mid-Atlantic regional office has undertaken inspections and enforcement actions at gas stations for ground-level ozone requirements. The other areas are Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Allegheny County, Pa., where like Baltimore the regional air quality does not meet allowable limits for ozone.
The current action contributes to EPA's record-shattering enforcement results for the 2008 fiscal year. To date, EPA has concluded enforcement actions requiring polluters to spend an estimated $11 billion on pollution controls, cleanup and environmental projects, an all time record for EPA. After these activities are completed, EPA expects annual pollution reductions of more than three billion pounds.
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