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Port Imperial Marina in Weehawken, A NY Waterway Ferry Terminal, Charged With Tank Mismanagement; 6,000 Gallon Gas Tanks Lacked Leak Data -- Posed Threat to Hudson River

Release Date: 02/03/1999
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(#99015) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it has charged Arcorp Properties, the operator of the Port Imperial Marina at Pershing Road in Weehawken, New Jersey, with mismanaging its underground storage tanks (USTs) and posing a threat to the environment. According to EPA, Arcorp could not produce records indicating that the marina's four 6,000-gallon gasoline and diesel fuel tanks had been tested for leaks from June 1997 to October 1998, suggesting that the tests had not been done.

"The substances stored in these underground tanks are toxic to the environment," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "Since leaks and releases from such tanks often go unnoticed by observers at ground level, regular and thorough leak detection tests are an absolute necessity. In this case, the company's inability to prove that it performed regular tests suggests a potentially serious threat to the environment, because the marina is on the Hudson River -- a sensitive aquatic ecosystem."

Underground storage tanks are regulated by EPA under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976. They range in capacity from a few hundred to 50,000 or more gallons, and are used to store gasoline, heating oil and other fuels, waste oil, and hazardous substances at gas stations, marinas, government facilities, and large industrial sites. USTs are also the nation's number-one source of groundwater contamination, with over 30,000 leaks and spills from tanks reported annually. Since USTs are buried several feet underground, spills and releases into the soil are often invisible to people standing at ground level. To insure that releases are quickly detected, RCRA requires owners and operators to perform monthly tests on their tanks to check for leaks. RCRA also requires owners and operators to keep thorough records of these tests, and of any work done on the tanks.

Arcorp Properties operates a 185-acre facility along the Hudson River in Weehawken from which NY Waterway, a company related to Arcorp through officers and/or financial interest, provides ferry service to New York City. The four underground storage tanks in question are used to fuel the ferries and private boats that use the marina.

The company has been charged with failing to produce leak detection records dating from June 17, 1997 to October 30, 1998, in violation of RCRA. EPA will seek a penalty of $26,630 in the case.

For more information contact:
Nina Habib Spencer, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3670 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: habib.nina@epamail.epa.gov