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Gott Co. to Pay $5,400 in Underground Tank Settlement with EPA

Release Date: 3/8/2001
Contact Information: Ruth Wuenschel, (215) 814-5540

Ruth Wuenschel, (215) 814-5540

PHILADELPHIA --The Gott Company, Inc. has agreed to pay a $5,400 penalty to settle EPA’s June 2000 complaint over underground fuel tank violations at the company’s gas station in Deale, Md. Gott, headquartered in Prince Frederick, Md., owns the Parks Liquors/Parks Citgo station at 450 E. Bayfront Rd. in Deale.

According to EPA, Gott violated state and federal regulations designed to prevent, detect, and control leaks of petroleum and other hazardous materials from underground storage tanks. EPA alleged that the company failed to maintain adequate safeguards to detect leaks from a 4,000-gallon tank currently used to store kerosene, and failed to maintain proper leak detection records for three additional underground fuel tanks, two each at 8,000 gallons and the other at 10,000 gallons.

“It is critical to carefully monitor underground storage tanks within the fragile Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Tom Voltaggio, acting regional administrator of EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional office. “A fuel leak that reaches the Chesapeake can affect the delicate web of the bay’s ecosystem. While no actual spill is evident, it is the responsibility of every service owner to stay on top of his inventory, the condition of his tanks and the control measures in case a leak does occur.”

With millions of gallons of fuel stored in underground tanks throughout the U.S., Underground tank leaks pose a constant threat to land and water resources. EPA’s leak prevention regulations are designed to reduce the serious health and environmental risks of oil and petroleum product leaks and spills.

As part of the settlement, the company neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations, but certified that it is now in compliance with leak detection requirements.