Fuel Tank Replacement Months Behind Schedule
City officials said Monday that they are months behind schedule in replacing fuel tanks at city facilities and will have to continue sending employees to private gas stations in the meantime.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced a decade ago that it was requiring all operators of fuel tanks to replace older containers with double-lined tanks by Dec. 22, 1998, but the city failed to complete the work.
On Monday, officials admitted that 30 fuel tanks scheduled to be replaced by this month are now expected to be done by July. Only three tanks have been replaced so far and five others are under construction.
“It seems to me we have a timeline delay that is quite enormous,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who added that she is dismayed.
Chick heads the council’s Public Safety Committee, which heard from General Services Department spokeswoman Arlene Taylor that 13 other tanks won’t be replaced until September.
The city is spending about $1.3 million to provide alternative fueling through June 30, including mobile fuel tankers at some city facilities, Taylor said.
Chick said the delays will mean that costs will increase.
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