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Philadelphia Gas Works to Pay $8,090 Penalty to Settle Underground Storage Tank Violations

Release Date: 10/18/2012
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 18, 2012) -- Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) has agreed to pay a $8,090 penalty to settle alleged violations of underground storage tank (USTs) regulations at the company’s facility at 1849 N. 9^th St., Philadelphia, Pa., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA cited the company for not complying with safeguards designed to prevent, detect, and control leaks of petroleum and other hazardous substances from USTs. The alleged violations involved a 10,000 gallon capacity underground storage tank used to store diesel fuel. According to EPA, the company failed to comply with release detection requirements for an 11-month period, and failed to promptly investigate a suspected leak from this tank. This settlement does not reflect a determination by EPA that there was an actual leak from this UST.

With millions of gallons of petroleum products and hazardous substances stored in USTs throughout the U.S., leaking tanks are a major source of soil and groundwater contamination. EPA and state UST regulations are designed to reduce the risk of underground leaks and to promptly detect and properly address leaks thus minimizing environmental harm and avoiding the costs of major cleanups.

The settlement penalty reflects PGW’s cooperation with EPA in correcting the alleged non-compliance and resolving this matter.

For more information on underground storage tanks, go to: https://www.epa.gov/oust/index.htm.