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EPA fines Van’s Trading Co. $7,600 for underground storage tank violations

Release Date: 09/07/2006
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248

News advisory

(San Francisco, Calif. -- 09/07/2006) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settled with Van’s Trading Company in Tuba City, Ariz. and operator Lucky Mokhesi for underground storage tank violations at their facility on the Navajo Nation. In April, EPA inspectors discovered that the company failed to conduct annual line tightness and leak detector tests on its petroleum underground storage tanks. The company also failed to have insurance to address accidental releases from its underground storage tanks. The facility has three underground storage tanks; two for storing gasoline and one for storing diesel. The company has since complied with federal underground storage tank regulations. To prevent releases, federal law required all regulated underground storage tanks to have spill and overfill equipment, and corrosion protection in place by Dec. 22, 1998. Although the compliance date has long since passed, regulatory agencies still find violations. Releases that are detected quickly can be cleaned up faster and at a far less expense than releases that go undetected for long periods of time. The EPA frequently conducts unannounced tank inspections. For more information on the EPA’s underground storage tank program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/OUST