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$25,000 Penalty for V-1 Oil Co.

Release Date: 2/26/1999
Contact Information: Mark Ryan
ryan.mark@epamail.epa.gov
(208) 378-5768


February 26, 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - 99-7



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

V-1 Oil Co., Idaho Falls, Idaho, was ordered to pay a penalty of $25,000 following a federal hearing for violations of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations requiring closure of two inactive underground storage tanks.

“We are pleased that the complaint was upheld,” Said Lauris Davies, manager of EPA’s regional groundwater protection office. “Ensuring that old storage tanks are assessed and permanently closed keeps potential pollutants from affecting the community’s groundwater,”

The EPA issued the company a $300 field citation in early 1994 alleging that two tanks at the company’s Twin Falls facility had been out of service for more than 12 months, yet had not been permanently closed as required by federal law. In June 1995, after several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter informally, the EPA withdrew the field citation and issued a compliance order seeking a penalty of $23,334. The complaint was later amended to request a penalty of $36,674.

Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski ordered the company to pay a $25,000 penalty and comply with the site assessment and tank closure requirements of the regulation. V-1 Oil Co. has 60 days from the Judge’s January 29 initial decision to pay the civil penalty. The company may appeal the decision to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board or to federal court.

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