Pocono News Section

Underground Gas Tanks Contaminate Soil

Underground Gas Tanks Contaminate Soil - Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 04:04AM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Thursday June 10 2010
POCONO TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY - Your tax dollars are helping to clean the environment. The commonwealth is spending more than$6 million in stimulus money to clean up contaminated sites.

There are more than seventy of those sites in pennsylvania. About twenty of them are in northeastern Pennsylvania. Workers removed three big underground gas tanks from an old Texaco station on route 611 in Pocono Township.

Those tanks were contaminating the ground. Becky Montes Deoca of East Stroudsburg said, "I think it's about time and hopefully they do a good job of it."

The tanks here were installed in 1973 and they were never upgraded or changed to keep up with environmental laws.

People who live and work in the area were glad to hear the department of environmental protection is taking care of the problem. Montes Deoca said, "I t's really important. I think a lot of people come to the poconos because of our environment and taking care of it is probably in all of our interests."

The clean up will cost nearly $60,000. Federal stimulus money will pay for it. But some say the gas station owner, Century Oil, should be responsible.

Angel Colon of Blakeslee complained, "If it's your responsibility and it was causing damage you should man up and pay."

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to get Century Oil to pay back the government. TheEPA won a judgment against Century Oil earlier this year. But the oil company still hasn't paid up. Colon said, "O think that's totally unfair. Why should i pay for someone else's problem."

Some worry contaminants could spread to a nearby stream. Angela Colon said the gas station owner should have taken care of the problem years ago. She said, "[It's] because you're not just affecting yourself. There's people that live around you. There's also animals that are in that stream. People might be using that for whatever reason."

So far theDepartment of EnvironmentalProtectionsays the stream has not been contaminated and inspectors will continue to monitor the situation.

Century Oil also owes money for another Monroe County clean up. It left gas tanks at another former Texaco station on Fifth Street in Stroud Township. The cost of that clean up is more than $60,000.