| DEP FINES NORTH
BERGEN GAS RETAILER FOR
UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK VIOLATIONS
(04/138) TRENTON -- The Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that Power
Gas, a commercial gasoline station located in North Bergen,
Hudson County, was fined $60,000 for improper storage of
hazardous materials.
"DEP will hold accountable those who jeopardize our
water quality and public health by ignoring laws that protect
water resources from leaking underground storage tanks,"
said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "A single
gallon of gasoline can impair one million gallons of drinking
water in our aquifers."
During a routine inspection of Power Gas on May 11, DEP
staff detected contaminated soil through the use of a probing
device. DEP issued a notice of violation that required the
facility to investigate the source of the contamination,
which Power Gas failed to do. In addition, Power Gas violated
state laws that require it to report information regarding
hazardous substance leaks.
Power Gas must pay a $60,000 fine and submit to DEP reports
documenting its investigation of the contamination source,
testing of leak detection equipment and development of a
leak response plan. DEP will oversee the remediation of
contaminated soil according to the site investigation report.
DEP's North Bergen enforcement action is part of a statewide
underground storage tank compliance inspection program to
prevent pollution by reducing the number of leaking tanks.
DEP established a group of 18 state and county inspectors
to conduct compliance inspections every three years at each
of the state's 8,000 facilities that contain regulated underground
storage tanks.
Owners and operators of underground storage tanks also
must register their tank systems with DEP on a three-year
cycle. Testing and cleanup work is underway by responsible
parties at more than 4,000 sites statewide where underground
storage tanks have leaked and contaminated soil or groundwater.
DEP provides compliance assistance to owners and operators
of facilities with underground storage tank systems. State
and federal laws require all owners and operators to maintain
leak detection, corrosion and overfill prevention and other
measures to prevent tank leaks. DEP also will track all
inspections and enforcement actions taken when responsible
parties fail to comply with relevant laws.
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