DEP Obtains Court Order
to Cease Operations at Local Gas Station:
Owner Fails to Address Environmental and Safety Concerns
(03/14) Trenton The Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the
Superior Court of New Jersey on February 13 granted a temporary
restraining order requiring AB Trading Enterprises to immediately
shut down their gasoline service station in Wayne Township,
Passaic County, for significant underground storage tank
violations.
"We asked the court to take immediate
precautionary action and shut down the service station to
protect residents and to help us ensure that its operations
pose no environmental or public health threat," said
DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "AB Trading Enterprises'
continued failure to heed DEP directives could result in
greater harm to the state's groundwater and soil, and compromise
public safety."
Before resuming operations, AB Trading
must fulfill the following court mandates: determine whether
or not its underground storage tanks are coated and/or lined;
verify that all tanks and lines are protected against corrosion;
submit a schedule with dates to address all environmental
issues, including surface spills and groundwater and contaminated
soil issues; verify that all overfill equipment is in working
order; and test the integrity of all tank system lines.
A second court date to review AB Trading's
progress in addressing the court mandates is set for Friday,
February 21 in State Superior Court, Passaic County.
The DEP first issued AB Trading Enterprise
a Notice of Violation (NOV) on December 4, 2002 that imposed
a delivery ban on all four underground storage tanks and
a cease use directive for the two regular unleaded grade
underground storage tanks at AB Trading's Wayne Township
service station.
On December 10, 2002, the DEP received
test results taken from four tanks at the service station
that revealed that three of the four tanks at the site and
all product piping failed to meet the DEP's corrosion protection
criteria. During an on-site follow-up inspection on December
17, DEP learned that AB Trading Enterprises ignored the
delivery ban and cease use directive and the service station
remained in full operation.
Information from the gas station's onsite
Automatic Tank Gauging (ATG) control panel revealed that,
at minimum, the service station accepted deliveries of gasoline
on December 5,7, 8, 10, 11, 14, and 15.
During the December 17, 2002 inspection,
the ATG, which can be used to monitor tank product levels
and perform leak detection tests, also revealed gasoline
tank overfills at the service station on October 26, November
19, 20 and 27, December 2, 8 and 15, 2002.
Responding to AB Trading's disregard of
the delivery and operations ban, Deputy Attorney General
Anna Lascurain, the lawyer handling this matter in court,
said, "Restraints were necessary in this case. This
business operated in a way that demonstrated a total disregard
of human health and the environment."
The DEP inspection of the facility was
initiated by a citizen's complaint alleging that "contaminated"
gasoline was purchased at the AB Trading Service Station
and that their vehicle was damaged. Responding to the complaint,
DEP enforcement officers inspected the service station and
detected the presence of volatile organic vapors and gasoline
odors in two ground water monitoring wells, indicating that
there had been a discharge of hazardous substances to the
soil and/or ground water. The inspection also revealed the
presence of approximately 1.5 inches of gasoline in a submerged
sump located at the regular unleaded grade tanks, indicating
a possible ongoing discharge of petroleum products into
the environment.
On behalf of the DEP, the Office of the
Attorney General filed the Verified Complaint and Order
to Show Cause With Temporary Restraints in Superior Court.
In addition to the cease use and delivery ban and remedial
actions, the Complaint seeks an order awarding the DEP its
costs and fees in taking this action and maximum statutory
penalties (not to exceed $50,000 per day) pursuant to the
Underground Storage Tank Act and the Spill Compensation
and Control Act.
The Spill Compensation and Control Act
prohibits the discharge of a hazardous substance except
in compliance with a state or federal permit. The Underground
Storage Tank Act specifically addresses the substantial
threat to the environment and the public health, safety
and welfare posed by the discharge of petroleum products
and other hazardous substances from underground storage
tanks.
Leakage of hazardous substances is among
the most common causes of ground water pollution in New
Jersey.
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