$6.1 Million In Stimulus Funds Will Clean Up Underground Tanks

Pennsylvania has received the maximum grant amount available to the state for leaking underground storage tank cleanup under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-- $6.1 million in federal funding to clean up 71 tank sites in 40 counties.

“Leaking underground storage tanks create a variety of problems, from soil and ground water contamination to preventing sites from being used in a productive manner,” said Gov. Rendell.
“The benefits of these projects will be many: the clean-up work will create jobs for contractors; and the remediated sites will help attract developers which creates construction jobs and permanent jobs through new business opportunities.”

In July, the state Department of Environmental Protection applied for the Recovery Act funding grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up sites where the responsible party is unknown, is unwilling or unable to remediate the site or the cleanup is an emergency response situation. In cases where the responsible party is unwilling or partially able to conduct the work, DEP will perform the remediation work and may take actions to recover cleanup costs.

“This is an example of federal money being used at the local level to put people to work and make their neighborhoods better and safer places to live and work,” said Gov. Rendell. “This funding will enable us to take once productive sites and restore them to the point where they can be productive once again.”

For more information, visit DEP's Storage Tank Cleanup Program webpage.