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Department of Ecology News Release - November 18, 2008
08-301
BELLEVUE – The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Shell Oil Products US (Shell) have signed the state's first agreement by a fuel marketing company to clean up contamination at multiple current and former gas station sites.
The pilot project has strong support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A $200,000 EPA grant will fund Ecology's first-year implementation costs.
Shell agrees to accelerate the study and cleanup as needed at 83 locations in King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. Ecology's Northwest Regional Office in Bellevue will coordinate the cleanup process with Shell.
"Working together on such a large block of contaminated sites is a triple win," said Jim Pendowski, who manages Ecology's toxics cleanup program. "The company will have increased certainty for moving forward in its business planning. The environment will be cleaner and healthier. And that's good for the people and communities around these 83 service station sites."
Shell will place the sites into Ecology's Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The VCP enables owners of contaminated sites to meet state cleanup standards independently and to receive technical guidance from Ecology during the process.
Participants in the VCP pay fees to Ecology to cover the department's costs for guidance and review. VCP sites must meet the same cleanup standards as properties formally managed by Ecology under the state's cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act, created by a 1989 voter initiative.
A map and list of site addresses and target cleanup dates are available on line at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/vcp_sites/vcpOverview.htm.
"Shell is excited to be working with Ecology and the EPA on this Voluntary Cleanup Program," said Kevin Autin, General Manager, Retail, Shell Oil Products US. "We value the communities where we live and work and are committed to meeting environmental standards."
"This is good news for the environment and for local economies -- as many of these sites are in prime locations," said Elin Miller, EPA regional administrator. "We applaud this agreement between Ecology and Shell. We think it's an excellent model for others to follow and would like to see more multi-site cleanup agreements soon."
Older gas stations used steel underground tanks and piping, which corroded over time and frequently leaked. A substantial number of fueling stations built before 1998 have been found to have leaking underground tanks. Gas stations today – and since 1998 – must meet standards that safeguard against corrosion and leaks, maintain leak-detection systems, and undergo regular inspections by Ecology.
Based on the pilot project's results, Ecology's Northwest Regional Office may pursue similar agreements with nine other companies that own 342 additional former gas station sites in the seven counties of Ecology's Northwest Region: Island, King, Kitsap, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom.
The pilot project with Shell and EPA is part of Ecology's ongoing effort to reduce and prevent toxic threats to human health and the environment.
Jiffy Lube International, Inc. (JLI), a lubricants entity related to Shell, also is a signatory to the agreement and will have a small number of sites within the project. However, Shell will manage the JLI sites with Ecology.
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Media Contacts:
Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009; pager 206-663-1785
Russ Olsen, Ecology Voluntary Cleanup Program, 425-649-7038
Alison Chassin, Shell media relations, 415-383-1943
Suzanne Skadowski, EPA media relations, 206-553-6689
For more information:
On the Web:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/vcp_sites/vcpOverview.htm
List of sites by county and city:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/vcp_sites/SitesByCounties.pdf
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
