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Owner of Recently Closed Business Is Charged with Underground Storage Tank Violations

Delivery of regulated substances into “red tagged” underground storage tanks is a risky business practice, as the owner of a site in northeast Michigan recently discovered.  The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality allegedly placed the warning placards on the underground storage tanks at a site in St. Charles, Michigan approximately four years ago.   Red tags are typically attached to the fill pipe of the tank and prohibit delivery to/use of the tank until it is brought into compliance. According to the detective with the MDEQ’s Environmental Investigation Section, the owner allegedly ignored the DEQ’s red tagging and used the tanks for the temporary storage of liquid industrial wastes identified as “petroleum-related contact water”.    For his efforts, the owner was rewarded with four counts of underground storage tank violations and was arraigned in Saginaw County’s 70^th District Court.  Use of an underground storage tank system following the placement of red tags is prohibited by Part 213 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), Section 324.21316a.  Violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days, a fine of up to $500, or both.

The owner is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial hearing before Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank on November 7, 2013. For more details, click on the following link: http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2013/09/shuttered_miles_petroleum_owne.html

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