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Complaint Filed Against Former Owner of Plummer Idaho Gas Station

Release Date: 6/4/2002
Contact Information: Pamela Harris
harris.pamela@epamail.epa.gov
(206) 553-6649

June 4, 2002
Former Owner/Operator of Plummer Quick Stop Receives $88,402 EPA Complaint For Alleged Underground Storage Tank Violations

The Pacific Northwest Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Mr. Marvin Bain, former owner and operator of the Plummer, Idaho Quick Stop gas station, in a complaint for $88,402 in penalties for alleged underground storage tank violations. The gas station and convenience store is located at US 195 and Hwy 5 on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, ID.

According to John Iani, EPA Regional Administrator, Underground Storage Tank regulations are important tools in the ongoing campaign to protect Idaho’s groundwater.

"Once groundwater is contaminated, it's difficult, if not impossible, to restore its purity,"said Iani. "Since many of us depend on groundwater for drinking and household use, it's important to do what we can to protect this precious resource. Leaking underground storage tanks are a serious threat to groundwater and need to be treated accordingly. Tank owners and operators must have and properly use leak detection and prevention equipment as part of their normal business operations."

EPA has brought five counts against Mr. Bain alleging that he violated EPA’s Underground Storage Tanks (UST) regulations by failing to continuously monitor the facility’s three underground storage tanks for leaks; failed to investigate a potential release; failed to obtain insurance for the three tanks and failed to properly maintain corrosion protection on three tanks. EPA believes the facility was in noncompliance for the entire duration of Mr. Bain’s ownership. The complaint also claims that the facility never had insurance -- as required by federal regulations -- on the three underground storage tanks. Such insurance provides that tank owners have the financial resources to contain and clean up a potential petroleum release.

The Plummer Quick Stop facility is upgradient from the Plummer’s municipal water supply and also lies above a wetland area and tributary to the Coeur d’Alene River.