Official to Seek $5,000 Fine for Exxon in Gasoline Spill

The Exxon Corp. is facing its second fine in four months in connection with the spill of gasoline from a service station into storm drains leading to state waterways, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board said Wednesday.

The second incident, involving 1,000 gallons of gasoline that leaked from an underground tank at an Anaheim service station, occurred Feb. 14, the same day the board levied a $2,760 fine against Exxon for the “intentional flushing” of gasoline from an Irvine station into a tributary of Newport Bay last September.

James R. Bennett, executive officer of the state agency, said he will recommend that board members impose a $5,000 fine against Exxon when they consider enforcement action Friday at their regular monthly meeting.

Firm Reacted Quickly

Bennett said he would not recommend the maximum possible penalty of $10,000--or $10 per gallon--because corporation officials, when contacted about the spill discovered at 11 p.m. during a particularly heavy rainstorm, promptly called out a cleanup contractor.

“There was a heck of a lot of water inundating the area, so it was very difficult to quantify the impact,” Bennett said. “And the discharger did initiate voluntary cleanup to the extent feasible. They were very cooperative.”

The incident occurred at a station at 2180 W. Ball Road after a contractor checking for leaks in an underground storage tank failed to close valve lines before leaving work that day, Bennett said. That night, heavy rains flooded the tank and sent about 1,000 gallons of gasoline flowing into nearby storm channels leading to Huntington Harbour.

Although the spill was a result of the actions of workers for H.D. Howard Inc., an Exxon contractor, Exxon is being held responsible as the owner of the tank, Bennett said.

In February, the Orange County district attorney’s office filed misdemeanor criminal charges against Exxon in connection with the Sept. 5 spill of 276 gallons of gasoline at an Irvine station.

However, Deputy Dist. Atty. Diane Stavehagen Kadletz said the complaint, filed on behalf of the state Department of Fish and Game, was dismissed after further investigation revealed that “Exxon employees were not responsible. . . . It was an employee of the station owner.”