Petroleum Contamination Cleanup

Petroleum contamination cleanup involves the removal of obsolete tanks and the remediation of overburdened soil on and around any petroleum dispensing sites, i.e. gas stations, factories, citrus farms and multi faceted industrial facilities.

The Florida legislature has imposed a deadline of 2010 for site clean-up and replacement of all obsolete tanks. According to the EPA website, there are currently approximately 25,000 to 40,000 gas stations in the state of Florida needing some level of site cleanup and tank remediation in order to comply with the legislature and its deadline over the next three years.

Regulation of underground petroleum storage tanks began in the early 1980s with the recognition that Florida’s groundwater, which provides 90% of the state’s needs, was at risk of becoming contaminated. In 1982, petroleum contamination from a leaking underground petroleum storage tank was documented in a well field for the City of Bellevue, in Marion County drinking water, 70% of the state’s industrial water and 50% of its agricultural water. The state legislative response to the problem was the passage of the Water Quality Assurance Act of 1983. The law provided for:

• prohibition of petroleum discharges;
• required cleanup of petroleum discharges;
• state mandated cleanup if not done expeditiously;
• strict liability for petroleum contamination; and
• required tank inspections and monitoring

According to the Environmental Protective Agency, there is currently a shortage of new, in-ground petroleum tanks, with a wait time of approximately 90 days for the delivery of tanks that comply with Florida’s 2010 requirements. As the compliance deadline nears, Management believes this wait time will increase, which Management believes creates incentive for the petroleum tank owners to commit to early compliance with the state requirements.

In addition to the full tank remediation, Surge also provides a faster, less expensive way to comply with the new codes. We can meet the Florida deadline and comply with Florida’s administrative ruling chapter 62 section 671 by using the secondary containment system. The Secondary containment system is a time proven technology, that allow tank owners to transform their existing single-wall tanks into fully compliant tanks with secondary containment and continuous leak detection, without replacing their tanks.