by Kim Kilpatrick
October 14, 2009 10:12 AM
As first reported by epa.gov on October 13 and by environmentalleader.com on October 14, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is entering into two related agreements with SFO Fuel and Chevron to resolve 2008 Clean Water Act violations at a large jet fuel storage facility located at the San Francisco International Airport, right next to the San Francisco Bay.
SFO Fuel is an airline consortium which leases the SFO Fuel Tank Farm Facility at the San Francisco International Airport. Chevron operates the facility, which boasts seven above-ground storage tanks with a capacity of 15 million gallons; the largest tanks hold up to 90,000 barrels of jet fuel.
This consortium contacted the EPA last year to self-report what they believed was inadequate secondary containment capacity (a requirement of the Clean Water Act). Left unchecked, it could have lead to a disastrous spill into the San Francisco Bay. Following an EPA inspection at the facility, it was agreed that the facility had insufficient secondary containment capacity.
The EPA’s Clean Water Act stipulates that all facilities have secondary containment capacity that can hold the full volume of the largest tank plus "freeboard’ (potential rainfall) to prevent releases of oil into waters of the United States.
"We appreciate SFO Fuel and Chevron’s proactive approach in coming forward to acknowledge this problem when they became aware of it," noted Dan Meer, assistant director of the Superfund division in the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. "We are pleased that they are taking prompt steps to bring their secondary containment system into compliance with the Clean Water Act."
SFO Fuel and Chevron have adjusted their operations at the tank farm with alarms and automatic shut-off valves in order to reduce the volume that is present in their largest tanks until the facility is able to increase the size of its secondary containment area. Additionally, SFO Fuel is installing a geosynthetic clay liner throughout the containment area. Finally, SFO Fuel and Chevron must pay a $177,500 penalty.