"Out of sight does not mean out of mind when it comes to underground storage tanks, which is [image-nocss] why it is critical that facilities monitor their tanks and make sure they are not leaking," said EPA regional administrator Judith Enck. "It is important that Manley's Mighty Mart quickly came into compliance when the violations were identified and that their leak detection upgrades will go beyond required compliance, and provide an added measure of safety for protection of public health."
The leak detection system upgrade is considered a supplemental environmental project under the agreement. A supplemental environmental project is an environmentally beneficial project that a violator voluntarily agrees to undertake in settlement; it must be a project that a violator will not otherwise be required to perform. In this case, Manley's Mighty Mart is replacing conventional leak detection devices with more technologically advanced electronic leak detection devices at the company's 12 Binghamton-area stations.
Routine EPA inspections of Manley's Mighty Mart stations showed that from 2005 to 2007, Manley's violated the federal Resource Conservation & Recovery Act requirements for monitoring and testing underground petroleum storage tank systems at 11 of its stations. Manley's also failed to keep and submit to EPA annual records for testing the storage tank systems.
Manley's facilities are now in compliance with the requirements, the EPA said.
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