Area UST Cleanup Funded

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   Approximately $425,000 has been set aside for cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks in Holbrook and $260,000 to clean up leaking tanks in Winslow.
   The funds are being administered by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), and represent a portion of the $3.2 million the agency received through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 as a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
   Among the sites selected for cleanup in Holbrook are the former Sunwest Trading Post, located at 905 W. Hopi Drive, the former Capitol Gas, located at 707 W. Hopi Drive and Farr’s Service, located at 101 W. Hopi Drive. A total of $125,000 is designated for the Sunwest Trading Post cleanup, and $150,000 each for Capitol Gas and Farr’s.
   In Winslow, the sites selected include Minnetonka Trading Post on Highway 66 and the former Mayflower Trucking, located at 1004 W. Fourth St. Approximately $225,000 is designated for the Minnetonka site cleanup and $35,000 for the Mayflower Trucking cleanup.
   An ADEQ announcement noted, “The majority of the proposed projects are cleanup of petroleum contamination from leaking underground storage tanks for which owners cannot be identified or where owners are not financially capable of conducting cleanups.”
   Altogether 24 sites around the state have been identified for cleanup, many of which are in rural areas. One other cleanup is slated in Navajo County at the B&B Market in Clay Springs at an estimated cost of $50,000. Two are slated in Apache County, including the former Berreras gas station in Concho at an estimated cost of $35,000 and the former Molly Butler Lodge in Greer at a cost of $75,000.
   Leaking underground storage tanks in communities like Holbrook and Winslow have been the subject of government scrutiny for many years, and the presence of such tanks has hindered the development of a number of vacant properties, especially along old Route 66.
   “This funding is significant, because it not only allows ADEQ to further protect human health and the environment for the people in Arizona, but it also provides opportunities for revitalization of communities and increased property values,” noted ADEQ Director Benjamin Grumbles.
   ADEQ also notes, “All projects are considered ‘green’ in that they result in environmental cleanup and productive reuse of otherwise contaminated sites.”
   According to ADEQ, “final guidance and funding allocations from EPA have not been made,” therefore timelines for the projects have not yet been set. They are, however, expected to proceed fairly quickly and will move forward through amendments to cleanup agreements that already exist between EPA and ADEQ.