SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Century Oil Acquisition Corp. to pay a $193,538 penalty for failing to take required measures to detect and prevent fuel leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs) at two gas stations it operated in northeast Pennsylvania.
EPA had cited the Spring Valley, N.Y.-based company for violations at two former Texaco gas stations: North Fifth Street Texaco, at 1410 N. 5th Street, Stroudsburg, Pa., the site of two 10,000-gallon and one 2,000-gallon gasoline USTs, and at Scotrun [image-nocss] Texaco, Route 611, Scotrun, Pa., the site of 6,000, 4,000, and 3,000-gallon gasoline USTs.
In addition to the penalty, the company is ordered to correct the alleged violations, and to certify its compliance with applicable federal and state UST regulations.
A March 30, 2004, inspection by the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection revealed that the company did not provide required corrosion protection, and leak prevention and detection safeguards for the six USTs at these facilities. According to the complaint, Century abandoned the two facilities in the late 1990s leaving each facility with at least one UST that was not empty.
Click here to view the EPA order.
Separately, the Sacramento (Calif.) Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (AQMD) said that Shell Oil Co. has paid $61,200 in penalties to settle air quality violations that occurred in 2006 at two of its Sacramento gas stations.
The violations involve two multi-day occurrences of operating a gasoline dispensing facility without a California Air Resources Board (CARB)-certified vapor recovery system.
Inspectors identified the problem and provided Shell with the appropriate notices and remedies, said AQMD's executive officer Larry Greene. Gas stations operating without certified vapor systems expose our citizens and our environment to many harmful pollutants.
The penalty is part of a settlement between AQMD and Shell Oil to resolve the violation issued in October and December of 2006 for Rule 449, Transfer of Gasoline into Vehicle Fuel Tanks.
The penalty was reached through AQMD's Mutual Settlement Program, a voluntary program designed to resolve violations without the time and expense of litigation. Settlement funds will be used to help support the District's mission of improving air quality in the Sacramento region.
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