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Owner of 200 Gas Staions in Central New York to Pay $400,000 for Tank Violations; Largest Settlement Ever for Tank Violations in Region - 60 Stations Involved

Release Date: 04/04/2001
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(#01025) New York, N.Y. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Mid-Valley Oil, the New Windsor, New York-based owner of 200 gas stations located primarily throughout central New York State, has agreed to pay a penalty of $400,000 for violations of federal underground storage tank regulations – the highest EPA penalty ever obtained in a settlement of charges of tank mismanagement in New York or New Jersey. EPA identified tank violations at 60 gas stations – most of them Xtra Marts and Citgos – from Syracuse to Binghamton to Glens Falls, ranging from failure to check regularly for releases of petroleum into the soil, to failure to upgrade older tanks to comply with new EPA safety standards. In some cases, tanks at Mid-Valley gas stations released petroleum product into the environment. The company has 45 days to make payment. "In areas like central New York where many people – especially those in more rural communities – get their drinking water from wells in their backyards, it is particularly important that owners monitor and upgrade their underground tanks," said William J. Muszynski, Acting EPA Regional Administrator. "Unfortunately, this company appears to have mismanaged its tanks systemwide. From now on, however, we expect full compliance with the EPA standards that were designed to protect the environment and people’s health." As a result of EPA inspections of 33 Mid-Valley gas stations and information provided by the company at EPA’s request, the Agency determined that 60 gas stations were operating tanks in violation of the federal tank management requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The gas stations are located in the following New York State counties: Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Dutchess, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Saratoga, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren and Washington. The violations included: not testing some tanks regularly to make sure they were not leaking petroleum product; failing to test the lines leading from some tanks to the gas pumps for leaks; and operating substandard tanks that lacked required upgrades to protect against spills, overfills and corrosion. Tanks at several of these non-compliant gas stations released petroleum product that resulted in soil and, in some cases, ground water contamination. These releases have been, are or will be addressed by Mid-Valley under the oversight of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In addition to the $400,000 penalty, by July 1, 2001, Mid-Valley Oil is required to certify to EPA that it has brought into full compliance all the tanks that had not been upgraded to meet more stringent federal standards. The company has certified that since February 1, 2001, it has been testing all of its tanks for releases as required by EPA, and as part of the settlement, will keep proper records of those tests from now on. If Mid-Valley fails to comply with the requirements of the settlement, it will face additional penalties. Mid-Valley also recently reached a $120,000 settlement with the DEC on additional charges of tank mismanagement. As part of its settlement with DEC, Mid-Valley agreed to develop and put into place an environmental management system – a companywide program of employee training and internal audits – to avoid future violations. Underground storage tanks 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. Leaks from tanks often contaminate the soil around the tanks, and can cause unhealthy gasoline vapors to settle into the basements of private homes and apartment buildings. Underground storage tanks have historically been the nation’s number-one source of ground water contamination, with over 412,000 confirmed releases and spills reported nationwide through September of last year. EPA and states’ underground storage tank regulations were put in place to prevent releases of petroleum, and, if a release does occur, to insure that it is addressed immediately. In 1998 Mid-Valley Oil reported projected sales of $150 million and employed 689 persons. Mid-Valley is a subsidiary of Warren Equities, Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island.