The Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday work will begin to remove underground petroleum storage tanks at the former Lakewood Shell on West 12th St., Millcreek Township, and the former Holiday Mart 99, on Sterrettania Road, McKean Township.

Jemko Petroleum Equipment of Erie was awarded a contract to remove the tanks from both locations and to test for any signs of leakage and contamination. The tank removals are scheduled to begin later this month.

The former Lakewood Shell property has two 10,000-gallon gasoline tanks on site. The former Holiday Mart property contains two gasoline and one diesel storage tank. The underground storage tanks range in capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 gallons.

“The removal of these abandoned tanks will eliminate a potential source of contamination to soil and groundwater,” said DEP Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch. “We will be onsite with the contractor to make sure the tanks are safely removed and to determine whether any contamination has occurred.”

DEP’s involvement with these sites began after the agency could not locate the owner of the properties. Hari Jot Sahib Ji, LLC, whose last known address is in Pittsburgh, has failed to pay annual registration fees for the tanks for several years. The company also has failed to pay Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund (USTIF) fees for the Holiday Mart tanks from 2007 through 2013.

USTIF pays for cleanups at facilities with leaking underground storage tanks, which can cost millions of dollars. Owners of underground tanks are required to maintain the insurance coverage, much like a car owner is required to maintain auto insurance.  The fees paid by all owners into the fund are used to pay claims. 

DEP will continue to pursue the owner of the properties to recover costs associated with the tank removals.

7/15/2013