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U.S. EPA ISSUES ORDER TO FACILITIES TO CLEAN UP CONTAMINATION

Release Date: 5/10/1996
Contact Information:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 1996

Contact: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA
(415) 744-1588

U.S. EPA ISSUES ORDER TO FACILITIES TO CLEAN UP CONTAMINATION

(San Francisco)-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced that it has issued an order to Sunshine Western Inc. and National Petroleum Marketing (dba Mobil gas station), and Thriftway Marketing Corp., gas stations in Tuba City, Ariz., to clean up petroleum that has leaked from their underground storage tanks. The plume of petroleum may pose an imminent environmental and health threat to Navajo and Hopi communities.

"Work needs to begin immediately to protect the environment and health of these communities," said Laura Yoshii, director for U.S. EPA's Office of Waste Programs. "Compliance with underground storage tank regulations is crucial to preventing groundwater and soil contamination from leaking underground tanks. Fuel tank owners and operators who violate these regulations put water supplies at risk and create costly cleanup problems."

The order requires the owners to immediately post signs warning of possible hazards of the contamination, install a device that is designed to stop the petroleum from reaching the surface, do an assessment of the extent and the nature of the contamination, prepare work plans to clean up the petroleum, and complete the cleanup.

U.S. EPA found that about 13,000 gallons of petroleum products leaked from Thriftway's underground tanks after four of its tanks were removed in April 1988. Pits containing petroleum products were found at Sunshine Western after its tanks were removed in May 1989. Leaks from underground tanks are violations of U.S. EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs the management of underground storage tanks and hazardous wastes.

The U.S. EPA has found that the plume has contaminated groundwater on Navajo and Hopi lands, and may be moving toward other underground sources of drinking water. Also, petroleum was found in surface soils and water between the stations and the Moenkopi Wash. Hopi and Navajo communities use groundwater for their drinking water. To date, there is no evidence that the contamination has reached the groundwater supply, wells, and springs of Tuba City or the villages of upper and lower Moenkopi.

The facilities are required to comply with the order within 30 days or face more formal enforcement action, which carries penalties of $5,000 per day.

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