Local gas station company fined for violating EPA guidelines

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said they've entered into an agreement with a local chain of gas stations regarding their fuel storage systems. The agreement will require the company that owns Mega Saver/Tobacco and Phones 4 Less gas stations to pay a penalty and carry out upgrades.

The EPA's release:

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with TFL, Inc., also known as Mega Saver and Tobacco and Phones 4 Less, to pay a civil penalty and upgrade spill monitoring and alarm systems at its gas stations in the Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, area for violations of the Underground Storage Tank provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. TFL, Inc., will pay a penalty of $16,448.

In addition to the penalty, the company also agreed to spend $133,000 to upgrade the monitoring and alarm systems at each of its 23 gas stations in the greater Omaha and Council Bluffs area. The new systems will enable fuel leaks at any of these facilities to be reported directly to a central location so an immediate response to the release can be directed.

Inspections conducted in 2016 by EPA revealed that at nine gas stations owned by TFL, Inc., the company failed to conduct required inspections or keep records concerning equipment designed to detect leaks from underground storage tanks (USTs) containing gasoline and other petroleum products. The inspections also revealed that TFL, Inc., failed to properly maintain overfill protection at two facilities. Overfill protection is designed to prevent gasoline spills when being pumped into USTs at a gas station. This enforcement action is the result of repeated violations over several years.

TFL, Inc., has until March 21, 2020, to complete the upgrade to the monitoring and alarm systems.