[ADEQ Media] Mohave County Filling Station Ordered to Close Underground Storage Tanks by May 8

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

Mohave County Filling Station Ordered to Close Underground Storage Tanks
by May 8 

PHOENIX (May 6, 2008) - The owner of the Beaver Dam filling station in
Littlefield in Mohave County has until Thursday, May 8 to close three
underground storage tanks because of  longstanding violations of
Arizona's underground storage tank (UST) regulations.

The closure order against Bill Evans was issued by Judge Janet Barton of
Maricopa County Superior Court. ADEQ filed a civil complaint against
Evans after he violated a 2007 Consent Order, in which he agreed to
follow safety regulations that he had been violating since 1998. Evans
also has been fined $5,000 for the violations by the Court, but he has
not yet paid the fine.  Failure to close the tanks by May 8 could
subject Evans to additional penalties.

"Mr. Evans has failed to comply with the law, despite receiving repeated
Notices of Violation from ADEQ," Director Owens said. "We have even put
off enforcement action in the past to accommodate his circumstances,"
Owens added, noting that after flood damage to Evans' property in 2005,
ADEQ postponed the filing of a civil complaint against him to give him
more time to comply. 

"Mr. Evans failed to live up to the terms of the Consent Order he agreed
to," Owens said.  We have given him more than enough time to comply with
the law." 

To protect soil and groundwater from UST leaks, operators are required,
among other things, to implement an appropriate method to detect
releases, conduct tests of the pressurized tanks and pipes, install
automatic leak detectors and a spill and overfill protection device,
provide rust protection for UST systems, and show evidence of financial
responsibility.  Evans has failed to comply with these requirements of
the law.

-30-

News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

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