FREDERICK, MD – The Board of County Commissioners of Frederick County, Md., settled alleged violations of underground fuel storage tank regulations May 28, according to a statement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Frederick County, the owner and operator of three underground storage tanks located at the Fleet Services Department, in Frederick, Md., agreed to pay a $4,600 penalty to settle alleged violations of federal regulations designed to prevent, detect, and control fuel leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs).

As part of the settlement, the county will also conduct an environmental project at a cost of $22,500: installing an automatic tank gauging monitoring program for the county's 12,000-gallon above-ground gasoline tank located at the Law Enforcement Center in East Frederick, Md., and two 6,000-gallon above-ground diesel tanks located at the Transit Facility in Frederick, Md. The monitoring system will be connected to a dedicated computer with specialized software tracking the tank release detection alarms for more reliable monitoring of the three above-ground tanks in case of any release.

EPA cited the county for failing to maintain complete records of release detection between March and December 2007 for three 12,000-gallon underground storage tanks, two of which contained petroleum, and one containing diesel fuel. EPA also alleged the county failed to perform automatic line leak detector testing annually between 2004 and 2007 on the petroleum tanks, and failed to perform required annual line tightness testing on both tanks between October 2006 and May 2007.

As part of the settlement, the county neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations, but certified its compliance with applicable UST regulations. The settlement reflects the county's cooperation with EPA's investigation, and good faith compliance efforts.

For more information on the EPA Underground Storage Tank program, visit: www.epa.gov/swerust1.