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EPA awards more than $7.4 million in Recovery Act funds to clean up underground petroleum leaks in Illinois

Release Date: 07/23/2009
Contact Information: Karen Thompson, 312-353-8547, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 09-OPA146

EPA: Funds help create jobs and protect Illinois' land and water.

(Chicago, Ill. - July 23, 2009) In an effort to protect people where they live, work, and play, EPA announced the distribution of more than $7.4 million to Illinois under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of Americans.

"We're providing immediate growth opportunities for communities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "EPA is putting people to work by serving our core mission of protecting human health and the environment."

This money is part of $197 million appropriated under the Recovery Act to address shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. The funds will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling or unable to finance, or the cleanup is an emergency response.

EPA regional underground storage tank programs will enter into a cooperative agreement with Illinois EPA in July 2009. The cooperative agreement will include more detailed descriptions of state spending plans.

"The Recovery Act support for underground storage tank cleanup is a great investment in environmental protection and will provide long-term economic benefits for Illinois," said Bharat Mathur acting regional administrator in Chicago.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can visit Recovery.gov to see how every dollar is being invested.

Learn more about EPA's implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: https://www.epa.gov/recovery/