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Five Guam facilities fined for fuel tank violations

Release Date: 06/27/2006
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov

(06/27/06) HONOLULU – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, working with Guam Environmental Protection Agency staff, inspected and fined five facilities for underground storage tank violations.

The EPA and GEPA conducted 28 inspections throughout Guam, found 19 violations and issued the five field citations for a total of $2,150 in penalties.

The EPA cited the Guam Waterworks Authority $900 for three violations that included failing to permanently close or upgrade a temporarily closed tank system after a year, and failing to comply with temporary closure requirements for underground tanks.

Shell Oil was assessed a $1,200 penalty for lacking proper spill buckets at two locations. Shell’s Upper Tumon and Mangilao locations did not have proper spill buckets and were requested to conduct a site assessment at each facility. Spill buckets surround the fill pipe where fuel is deposited into an underground storage tank.

“Gasoline can spill into the environment and potentially contaminate groundwater if a facility does not have proper spill buckets. Shell has been very cooperative in determining if there has been contamination at these sites,” said Eric Magnan, underground tank inspector for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “The federal field citation program helps bring underground storage tanks into compliance quickly without putting a financial hardship on the business.”

A December 1998 federal deadline required regulated underground storage tanks to have spill and overfill equipment, corrosion protection, and release detection methods to prevent releases.

The EPA frequently conducts unannounced tank inspections. Owners and operators who are cited are required to correct the violations, submit documentation, and pay the settlement amount within 30 days. Failure to comply may subject them to penalties of up to $11,000 per violation per tank per day in addition to the added cleanup costs for leaking tanks.

More information visit: https://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/ust/ustinspect.html#island and https://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/ust/index.html, or https://www.epa.gov/OUST/

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