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Wellpinit, Wash. Gas Station Owner Issued Complaint

Release Date: 2/25/2000
Contact Information: Todd Bender
bender.todd@epamail.epa.gov
(206) 553-0344

February 25, 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - 99-12




The Environmental Protection Agency today filed a complaint against Glenn Ford, owner of the Speelya Fast Stop in Wellpinit, Washington, for failure to comply with federal requirements for the safe storage and monitoring of gasoline at his Spokane Reservation service station. EPA is seeking a penalty in the amount of $77,069.
EPA investigators have performed numerous inspections at the Speelya Fast Stop and, over a six-year time period, repeatedly informed Mr. Ford of the December 1998 federal deadline for upgrading all underground fuel storage tanks in the U.S. Despite the repeated notices, Ford failed to upgrade his storage tanks and associated equipment by the deadline and has never performed adequate release detection.

The EPA complaint notes that Mr. Ford:

• failed to adequately protect the underground tanks and piping from corrosion;
• failed to install a spill and overfill prevention system;
• failed to do required leak-detention monitoring of the tanks and piping;
• and failed to secure financial resources for liability in the event property or people are damaged from leaks.

All are violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“As we have seen, poorly maintained gasoline storage and conveyance systems can have serious consequences to our drinking water supplies and to public safety.,” said Tim Hamlin, EPA’s Groundwater Protection Unit Manager.

“Mr. Ford,” Hamlin continued, “refused to comply with the law - a law meant to protect people and the environment from the substantial threats posed by inadequate storage of gasoline. The federal government gave gas station owners 10 years to upgrade their facilities and EPA repeatedly notified Mr. Ford of the law and his responsibility to comply with it. Yet he still ignored the law.

“In such cases, EPA’s responsibility is clear. We must penalize those who callously disregard the health and safety of their fellow citizens and the environment. And we owe it to those who play by the rules to take action against those who do not.”