Florida Gets $11.2M from EPA

Florida received $11.2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks.

The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans, according to an EPA release.

This money is part of $197 million appropriated under the recovery act to address shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks.

The funds will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling or unable to finance, or the cleanup is an emergency response.

EPA Region 4’s underground storage tank program will enter into a cooperative agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in July 2009. This agreement will include more detailed descriptions of the state’s spending plan.

“The Recovery Act funds will help Florida in its effort to provide long-term protection from pollution caused by leaking underground storage tanks,” said Stan Meiburg, EPA’s acting regional administrator in Atlanta. “The state will use the funds to assess and clean up abandoned tank sites while providing a boost to its economy through the creation of green jobs.”

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal