A St. Croix gas station owner faces tens of millions of dollars in fines for allegedly violating federal environmental laws.
In a suit filed last month in District Court on St. Croix, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief against Raymond James and Rattan Investment Co. for underground storage tank violations at Charlie’s Gas Station in Christiansted’s Eastern Suburb.
James and his company are allegedly in violation of several federal regulations and are facing fines of up to:
- $27,500 per day since Feb. 28, 1997 to the present.
- $11,000 per day for the period between March 14, 1997 to the present.
- $11,000 per day for each of the station’s two USTs since Jan. 30, 1997.
In a nationwide effort that began in 1989, the EPA mandated that all UST owners were to meet strict standards for tanks by Dec. 22 of last year. If the tanks couldn’t meet the new standards, they were to be closed. Meanwhile, violators would be hit with stiff penalties.
Underground storage tanks are the leading source of groundwater contamination in the United States, EPA officials have stated. St. Thomas is facing a cleanup in Estate Tutu due, in part, to underground storage-tank leakage that contaminated wells thete.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s complaint, regulations require tank owners to use a combination of methods to detect leaks from tanks and piping.
Last week, Armstrong Motors Inc., owner of four underground gasoline storage tanks at the Budget Gas Station in Golden Rock, was charged with three counts of tank mismanagement by the EPA. According to the agency, Armstrong Motors did not monitor leaks of underground piping, failed to provide a proper method to check the tanks themselves for leakage and did not keep records of any tightness tests for 1997.
James is facing similar charges and that he failed to submit required information for the USTs and the station’s used oil management practices on at least a half dozen instances dating back to 1996.
James couldn’t be reached for comment Monday evening.
