All News Releases By Date

U.S. EPA CITES 18 FACILITIES FOR UNDERGROUND TANK VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 7/6/1995
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

  (San Francisco)--  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S. EPA) today announced it has cited 18 facilities in Hawaii
and fined them a total of $6,700 for violating underground fuel
storage tank regulations under the federal Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act, which governs management of hazardous waste.

     "Compliance with underground storage tank regulations is
crucial to preventing groundwater and soil contamination from
leaking underground tanks," said Jeff Zelikson, director of
hazardous waste management for U.S. EPA's western regional
office. "Fuel tank owners and operators who violate these
regulations put our water supplies at risk and may create costly
cleanup problems to deal with in the future."

     The facilities had a total of 42 violations.  These
included: failing to install leak detection devices, failing to
conduct monthly monitoring of product levels in underground
tanks, and failing to operate the leak detectors adequately.  

     The U.S. EPA's underground storage tank (UST) field citation
program is designed to quickly bring owners and operators of
underground fuel tanks into compliance with federal UST
regulations. Facilities that receive a citation are required to
comply with the regulations and pay any penalty within 30 days.
If they do not, they will be subject to a more formal enforcement
action, which carries much stiffer penalties. The citations
impose penalties which generally range from $50 to $300 per
violation.  

     The citations were issued immediately after inspections by
U.S. EPA. The facilities cited were: Pearl Country Club, Aiea;
Honolulu Police Department, Wahiawa; GRG Enterprise Inc., Basin
Marine Division, and Lionels Unocal, Honolulu; Hawaii Department
of Transportation, Budget Rent-A-Car, Dollar Rent-A-Car, Gray
Line Hawaii and Paradise Service, Lihue; Hanamaulu Service
Center, Hanamaulu; Suda Kihei Store, Kihei; Lahaina Texaco
Service and Ed's Union Service, Lahaina; Arisumi Brothers Inc.,
Shinizu & Sons Construction, Budget Rent-A-Car, LBJ Texaco
Service, and Roberts-Hawaii, Kahului.

                        #     #     #