June 14, 2019
Montpelier, Vt. – The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that Slimain Handy’s Convenience Stores, Inc. was fined $6,750 for failing to conduct weekly leak detection monitoring of underground gasoline storage tanks as required by the Vermont Underground Storage Tank Rules.
In 2017, Slimain Handy’s Convenience Stores held a permit for three 8,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tanks located at the company’s Simon’s Store on Shelburne Road in South Burlington. A routine site visit in the summer of 2017 revealed that the company had not maintained full records of weekly leak detection monitoring. Vermont Underground Storage Tank (UST) Rules require recordkeeping of weekly monitoring for leaks in the form of in-tank and piping sump tests. Additionally, the leak detection records that the company had kept indicated frequently invalid or failing in-tank leak test results.
Commercial USTs hold hazardous substances from gasoline and diesel fuel to used motor oil and heating oil. Accidental release of these materials into the environment can threaten groundwater resources and cause explosive vapors to seep into homes and businesses. “Weekly monitoring is an opportunity for tank owners to catch and resolve problems early and avoid expensive clean up,” says Emily Boedecker, DEC Commissioner. “Commercial UST ownership comes with the responsibility to take steps like monitoring that help prevent hazardous material releases to the environment.”
DEC put the company on notice of these violations and provided directions to achieve compliance. Over the following two months, the company returned to compliance with their permit and the UST Rules, and has subsequently removed and replaced the three tanks. Slimain Handy’s Convenience Stores agreed to pay a $6,750 penalty for the violations of the UST Rules. This agreement between DEC and the company was incorporated into an Order of the Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division on June 11, 2019.
For more information from the Underground Storage Tanks Program at DEC, including an inspection checklist and schedule, visit https://dec.vermont.gov/waste-management/storage-tanks.