Koster said Flash Market owns and operates a gas station in Clarkton and one in Steele, in southeastern Missouri. He said Missouri law requires owners and operators of petroleum USTs to have a financial responsibility mechanism in place--most often UST insurance--to ensure that financial resources are available to pay for any corrective action should an accident occur.
The stations have [image-nocss] operated without financial responsibility for the past two years, according to Koster. In addition, Flash Market has failed to install proper equipment to prevent spills, has failed to maintain release detection records and has failed to test automatic line leak detectors on pressurized piping at the facilities, all in violation of Missouri law.
Koster said he filed the lawsuit after Flash Market failed to respond to correspondence or phone calls from his office. He is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction ordering the defendants to comply with the Missouri UST Law; to pay a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day for each violation of the law; and to pay all costs and fees associated with the lawsuit.
Flash Market, based in West Memphis, Ark., operates 91 Flash Market stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
Separately, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) cited Gassaway, W.Va.-based Go Mart Inc. for violating a water pollution control permit at its truckstop and fueling station in Teays, Putnam County, reported The Charleston Daily Mail. Go Mart has agreed to pay a $12,000 fine, said the newspaper.
According to a consent order cited by the paper, the DEP cited Go Mart on January 10, 2008, for allowing industrial wastewater to enter the waters of the state without a permit. A followup inspection on March 28, 2008, found that the violation had not been corrected.
On April 21, 2008, the state received a notice from Enviroprobe Integrated Solutions Inc. saying it was helping Go Mart determine the best way to direct stormwater on the truckstop's northern property line to an oil-water separator.
The DEP said it inspected the site on April 22, 2009, and found that stormwater from the northern property line was not going to the oil-water separator. The department said that it reviewed the truckstop's discharge monitoring reports and found that it had violated its permit four times between January 2008 and March 2010.
The DEP said that on January 25, Go Mart reported that the curbing at the site had been repaired or installed in May 2009 and that the curbing should direct all flows from the fueling-immediate store area to an authorized outlet. But when asked about the tractor-trailer parking area, Go Mart said it was exempt from the law. The department determined that the exemption claimed by Go Mart is for parking areas where employees park while at work.
"Therefore, this exemption does not apply to the staging area for over-the-road tractor-trailers as they cycle through the industrial activity carried on at this facility," the DEP said. "As such, Go Mart must address the runoff from this area"
Go Mart agreed to submit a proposed corrective action plan and schedule and to pay a $12,000 fine within 30 days. Go Mart executive Mike Conant signed the order January 12, said the report.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.