Underground gasoline leak confirmed in Linden
Posted: Friday, November 21, 2014 2:56 pm
Tri County Times
Linden — After reports came into the Times that an underground gas leak,
reportedly from a gas station in downtown Linden, had contaminated ground
in the small city, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Analyst
Marjorie Frisch confirmed that Beacon and Bridge gas station is responsible.
Beacon and Bridge is located at 110 East Broad St.,
and owned by Quick SaV Food Stores LTD, out of Flint.
This underground gas leak has been under investigation since June of this year,
and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs,
Bureau of Fire Services (LARA) was notified upon confirmation.
According to an email from Frisch, “The gas station’s responsibilities are defined
in Part 213 of Act 451. They will need to submit an IAR (Initial Assessment Report)
in 180 days from the confirmed release date (Nov. 14, 2014).”
In Part 213, the liable owner or operator needs to define the extent of
contamination in soil and groundwater and provide corrective actions
to deal with all contamination issues.
The DEQ will work with the gas station during these 180 days.
After testing the sump pump in the business located at
109 North Bridge St., Bridge Street Exchange,
the DEQ enlisted the assistance of Environmental Consulting & Technology (ECT),
which, according to ECT Senior Design Engineer Joel Parker,
put in a vapor mitigation system at the affected business.
The gas components that were found at 109 North Bridge
were tracked back to the gas station’s underground storage tanks.
The DEQ remedied this situation with the implementation of the mitigation system.
Kevin Begola, owner of Bridge Street Exchange said the past 4 months
have been a very stressful time as a property owner due to the situation at hand.
“I am relieved that this issue is finally coming to light.
“After purchasing my building, we started noticing some smells
that were alarming so we worked with these agencies to further inspect
the situation and what they uncovered was very shocking."
In November 2012, the Times reported that petroleum related ground contamination
was found in the ground where the Union Block once stood,
prompting Linden City to change its mind on purchasing the parcel.
According to an article from December 2012, the termination stemmed from
the second environmental study conducted by Atwell Hicks who
“identified the presence of petroleum related contaminants in soil and groundwater
on the southwestern portion of the property at concentrations above the DEQ criteria.”
About 50 residents and business owners got together on Friday morning
at the City Council Chambers for an informational meeting with
representatives of the DEQ, its environmental testing firm,
the health department, and other personnel to discuss the results of the
air and ground water testing that was done over the summer,
and to find out what will be done next.
Parker told the audience that the flow of the ground water
helped determine why the contamination ended up at Begola’s business.
Linden City Manager Paul Zelenak said,
“We were informed Thursday morning by the DEQ that the
Beacon and Bridge gas station was the likely source of the leak.”
He said that they have been working with the DEQ and ECT over a year ago
on the matter of ground contamination. The DEQ’s first tests were inconclusive,
but after businesses began smelling fumes earlier this year,
they had them come back for more testing.
“If we want to move forward as a city
we need to have this problem taken care of,” Zelenak said.
“We’re just pleased that we are moving forward with this with the help of the DEQ.
They will come up with ways to fix the problem.”
Residents may call Frisch at (517) 284 -5101 with questions or concerns.
Linden City will post updates on its website www.lindenmi.us,
and at city hall and the library.
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