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EPA Nixes Duplicate Reporting Rule for Maryland Gas Stations

Release Date: 2/25/1999
Contact Information: Ruth Podems, (215) 814-5540

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is eliminating the inventory reporting requirements for the majority of retail gas stations in Maryland.  The new rule will end duplicate reporting under two separate environmental laws.

On March 1, gas stations whose underground tanks hold fewer than 75,000 gallons of gasoline or 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel do not have to file annual inventory reports with the EPA. This change applies to gas stations that store fuel entirely underground and that are in compliance with underground storage tank regulations.  There are more than 18,000 of these active underground storage tanks in Maryland.

Retail gas stations, including convenience stores and truck stops, already report the location and capacity of their underground storage tanks when they register them with the state.  This information is sufficient for emergency planning purposes.

"We changed the rule because most emergency planning groups know the businesses in their areas that store these fuels and know the hazards associated with them.  Reporting annual inventories was redundant," explained W. Michael McCabe, administrator of EPA’s mid-Atlantic states.

To determine eligibility, contact your state or local emergency planning commission. For more information, retailers are urged to call EPA’s toll-free customer service hotline in Philadelphia, at 800-438-2474.  Text of the new regulation is available online at https://www.epa.gov/ceppo.


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