We focus so much on the pollutants in stormwater runoff that we sometimes forget about another source: those lurking underground. An article last week in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, newspaper highlights the problem of leaking underground tanks and their effect on groundwater.
In the 1980s, EPA got stricter about monitoring the condition of underground tanks that hold potentially hazardous substances. Leaks can occur when tanks rust through or break, and the agency began requiring owners of property with underground tanks to upgrade older tanks to meet new, more stringent safety standards. But not all the tanks have been upgraded or replaced.
The article mentions one particular case in which more than 3,000 gallons of kerosene leaked from a gas station tank very close to Nancy Run creek in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, including the cleanup of about 2,700 gallons and subsequent water and soil testing.
In Pennsylvania, owners of property with underground tanks must contribute a per-gallon fee to a state fund, and a 1.1 cent-per-gallon fee at the gas pump also goes into the fund, which helps with site cleanup when leaks do occur.