Tag: environmental
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The Warren County Airport located in McMinnville, Tennessee was inspected by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on June 27th, 2018. TDEC found a release detection violation within the airport’s Underground Storage Tank (UST) systems. According to TDEC’s records, the airport “was missing six months of release detection records”. Additionally, the airport was unable to provide records for the Automatic Tank Gauge’s (ATG) alarm history at the time of the inspection – a direct violation of State regulations.
While the airport was able to submit documentation of these records, they were received documentation on September 20th, 2018 – after the initial inspection was concluded.
TDEC has ordered the Warren County Airport to pay a civil penalty of $3,200, though the airport may make an early payment or undertake UST training to lessen the civil penalty amount.
Read the entire news release written by Walter Wright here: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/storage-tank-enforcement-tennessee-91680/
Cope’s Supermarket Inc. and Norma Jean Cope in Ravenswood, West Virginia are tied up in a non-compliance lawsuit that could cost the companies up to $25,000 per day in damages. The lawsuit is spearheaded by Harold D. Ward, the acting director of the Division of Water and Waste Management of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
According to the WV DEP office, the defendants own and operate three underground storage tanks in Ravenswood and have failed to correct documented violations that were reported back in 2016. The consequences of this lawsuit could result in civil penalties of up to “$25,000 per day for continued noncompliance and $10,000 per day all other violations of the USTA, costs, disbursements, attorney, witness and consultant fees, and other relief as the court deems just”.
If you’re struggling to navigate the EPA’s newest regulations, we’d be happy to explain both the federal and state UST requirements. We pride ourselves in covering the entire compliance supply chain from fulfilling your monthly and yearly physical inspection requirements to obtaining valuable data related to your site inefficiencies. More often than not, our services reduce your overhead costs and save you time, money, and stress. For more information or to ask us any compliance-related questions, please contact us at info@7g-enviro.com or call us at 888-400-3511.
To read more and continue to monitor these lawsuits, see the original article here: https://wvrecord.com/stories/511619503-wvdep-director-alleges-ravenswood-underground-tank-owners-failed-to-comply-with-order“
A Sunoco station in Philadelphia has agreed to pay $22,080 in penalties due to not meeting the UST’s leak detection and recordkeeping compliance requirements between 2015 and 2017. As part of the agreement, the Sunoco is now within the State and Federal compliance requirements.
The EPA’s UST regulations are intended to protect the public from a contaminated or a polluted water supply. If a UST malfunctions and a leak is detected, it endangers the health and safety of surrounding neighborhoods.
For site owners still scrambling after the October 13th deadline, we’re here to help! We complete over 2,000 inspections a month and we have over fifty years combined experience in the fuel compliance industry. Our team of professionals can help you navigate both your federal and state requirements to minimize your site’s non-compliance risk.
To speak to one of our compliance experts, call us at 888-400-3511 or email us at info@7g-enviro.com.
Read the original article here: https://www.petrolplaza.com/news/9635
Overview: The EPA has determined that the State of Utah’s UST program meets all requirements for the program’s approval and will go into effect on January 4th, 2019. The rule is subject to withdraw by the EPA prior to December 5, 2018 if implications arise.
The program approval by the EPA means that now all Utah UST systems must be ‘equivalent to, consistent with, and no less stringent than the federal UST program’. Because of the update to the EPA’s federal guidelines, states are required to revise their programs to comply with the federal guidelines and submit their revisions to the EPA for approval. This program approval does not impose additional requirements since these requirements were already in effect in Utah. However, it does make these regulations federally enforceable.
For a full list of questions and responses by the Government Publishing Office, click here.
For a full list of Utah state requirements, click here.
In Fenton, Michigan lied the old Fairbanks gas station that was once a Marathon. It had been in the Fairbanks family for over 55 years when the station closed down in 2003 and was finally demolished in early October 2018.
A petroleum leak was first found at the station’s Underground Storage Tank (UST) site in 2015 after a follow-up investigation years after the station’s closure in 2003. According to investigators and the Tri-County Times press release, the contents in the UST taken after the initial investigation surpassed the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) limits.
The investigation showed the surrounding soil and groundwater was contaminated and had migrated off-site. The settlement agreement concluded in May 2018 with the landowner responsible for resolving the cleanup obligations. Also, the agreement allowed the DEQ to initiate site cleanup and work began in September 2018.
Clean-up and restoration activities include removal of the UST’s and contaminated soil and asbestos building materials. In addition to removal, sheet piling will be installed to ensure that the excavation efforts do not damage roadways or pavement. The total removal, cleanup, and demolition will total $595,000. Once cleanup efforts conclude, the site will continue to be monitored for leak detection and soil contamination for a year after excavation. Once their initial investigation concludes, the DEQ will create a report documenting the release available in January 2019.
Sources: https://www.tctimes.com/news/deq-cleaning-up-leak-at-old-fairbanks-gas-station/article_bf9ef8c2-dec7-11e8-a096-f70ddb84fe93.html http://lindenmi.us/index.php/news/216-remediation-at-former-fairbanks-marathon.html
A Quick Summary of the Legal Changes:
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) published the new changes on August 27th, 2018 based on the June 20th Rule Development Workshops. The new law states that “Any visual inspection of any part of a storage tank system, dispenser, pipe, valve, pump, or other wetted portion of the system containing regulated substances that reveals uncontrolled pitting corrosion, structural damage, leakage, or other similar problems”. In other words, the FDEP has specifically included “pitting corrosion” as an incident under 62-761.430.What Does that Mean for You and Why Does this Matter Right Now?
For our present and future Florida clients who no longer inspect the inside of their sumps, owners are now required to report pitting corrosion as an incident and investigate it. If pitting corrosion is identified within the sump, the owner is responsible for the repairs.How Can You Prevent Additional Overhead Costs?
Thankfully, our team is prepared to handle any potential sump corrosion. Out team uses the Zerust (https://www.zerust.com/) product to fix corrosion issues, reducing overhead costs, and enhancing overall customer experience. We foresee this ruling change becoming an issue if sumps are not inspected for pitting corrosion. Our inspectors provides a 5-day notice of an inspection between our sump inspections. When the inspector opens the sumps, there could be an incident for pump head and other components that are pitting from the corrosion. Consequently, a NCL could be issued and the client would have 14 days to have it resolved under the new law.For Further Reading Taken from the FDEP Website:
Chapter 62-761, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.):
- Chapter 62-761, F.A.C., August 2018 Coded Draft Rules to be Amended
- Form 62-761.900(2) Storage Tank Facility Registration Form August 2018
- Form 62-761.900(3) Financial Mechanisms for Storage Tanks August 2018
- Instructions for Conducting Sampling During Underground Storage Tank Closure, August 2018
Chapter 62-762, F.A.C., August 2018 Coded Draft Rules to be Amended
- Form 62-762.901(2) Storage Tank Facility Registration Form August 2018
- Instructions for Conducting Sampling During Aboveground Storage Tank Closure, August 2018
As of June 1st, 2018 Oregon DEQ has revised UST regulations promulgated to rule and are now in effect. The regulations underwent public comment in February, and Environmental Quality Commission adopted the proposed rules on May 11th, 2018.
Some revises changes to the regulations include the following:
- 30 day notification for changing regulated substances of a UST containing greater than 10% ethanol or 20% biodiesel
- Demonstrations of UST system compatibility
- Under Dispenser Containment required for each new, moved, or modified dispenser
- All new or replacement USTs and connected piping must be secondarily contained and monitored using interstitial monitoring
- Flow Restrictors/Ball float valves are now longer allowed to be installed and cannot be repaired
- 30 day release detection for spill prevention and containment sumps used for interstitial monitoring
- 30 day walkthrough inspections for spill prevention and release detection begins 7/1/2020
- Annual inspections for containment sumps and hand held release detection
- Maintain these inspections for at least one year
- 24hr reporting on corrosion protection test failures
- Annual release detection operability testing
- Overfill prevention inspected at least once every 3 years
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On or after July 1st, 2020, owners and permittees of FCTs and AHSs must comply with 340-150-0137(2) and the training requirements for UST operators in this rule
- Vapor monitoring and groundwater monitoring are now longer allowed as an approved release detection method
- 24 hour notification to the DEQ for unusual operating conditions such as:
- erratic behavior of dispensing equipment
- sudden loss of product
- widely fluctuating water levels
- liquid in interstitial space (when brine is not used)
- Emergency generator tanks are subject to release detection requirements on 7/1/2020.
- All newly installed emergency generator tanks are subject to release detection requirements immediately