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Craigmont Air Services, Inc. agrees to pay over $8,000 for failure to monitor underground storage tank

Release Date: 03/17/2009
Contact Information: Peter Contreras, EPA UST Program, (206) 553-6708, contreras.peter@epa.gov Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, (206) 553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Boise, ID – March 17, 2009) Craigmont Air Services, Inc.and its President, Stan Bybee, who own and operate an underground storage tank (UST) at Craigmont Air Services in Craigmont, Idaho, have agreed to pay a $8,191 penalty for failure to monitor the UST monthly for releases to the environment. The Craigmont facility is located within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Tribe’s Reservation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Nez Perce Tribe’s environmental staff inspected Craigmont Air Services, located at Craigmont Airport, and found that Mr. Bybee and his company were not conducting monthly leak tests of the automatic tank gauge connected to their 12,000-gallon petroleum UST, which is a violation of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA had cited Craigmont Air Service for the same violation in June 2006. The company paid a $300 fine and corrected the violation, but violations occurred again at the facility from at least November 1, 2006 through May 31, 2008.

According to Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle, leaking USTs have been a major cause of groundwater contamination in the United States. Congress enacted laws requiring UST owners and operators to clean up leaking tanks, prevent tanks from leaking, and detect leaks quickly if they do occur.

“Tribes, EPA, and the State of Idaho are all committed to protecting our environment and preventing pollution from USTs, said EPA’s Kowalski. “We’re building on a successful partnership with the Nez Perce Tribe to protect groundwater in Craigmont and throughout the Nez Perce Reservation.”

In EPA Region 10, the Underground Storage Tank /Leaking Underground Storage Tank (UST / LUST) Program works to prevent the release of petroleum and other products stored in USTs.

For more information on the UST / LUST Program, visit the following EPA websites:
https://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/UST/UST+LUST+home
https://www.epa.gov/swerust1/index.htm

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