Summary: New York-based Century Oil Acquisition Corp. now must pay a $1.3 million federal court judgment, after failing to cleanup and come into compliance with a 2007 EPA order assessing a $193,538 penalty and requiring the closure of underground storage tanks (USTs) at two former Texaco stations in Stroudsburg and Scotrun, Pa.

In a 2006 complaint, EPA cited Century Oil for violations of regulations designed to avoid costly and environmentally harmful underground fuel storage leaks. An inspection of the two gas stations by EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection revealed that the company did not provide required corrosion protection and leak prevention and detection safeguards for two USTs that were not empty when the company abandoned the gas stations in the late 1990s.

In a September 2007 order, an EPA administrative law judge assessed a $193,538 penalty for these violations, and ordered Century Oil to permanently close the USTs, and perform any necessary environmental cleanup. Century Oil did not pay the penalty or otherwise comply with EPA’s order.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy ordered the company to pay a $1,303,131 penalty — including about $1.1 million in daily penalties for non-compliance with EPA’s order, as well as interest on the original EPA penalty. The judge also ordered the company to clean up any contamination from the gas stations’ tanks, and to either permanently close these tanks or bring them into compliance with UST regulations.

Source: January 27, 2010 EPA News Release

More Information: The full news release is at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/2D00DA53E4911EA0852576B90077183D

Prepared by: This message was distributed by Kellen Mahoney, who may be reached at e-mail: kmahoney@eetnews.com