WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Rea & Derick Inc. of Woonsocket, RI, $2,500 for failing to notify the agency properly of a heating oil spill at its Milton CVS store last November.
“This spill was significant enough to cause strong fuel oil odors that required CVS to evacuate and close the store, yet Rea & Derick did not notify DEP until a week later,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell. “That is unacceptable and a violation of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law.”
State regulations require that DEP be notified immediately when spills or releases to the environment are discovered by the property owner or operator of the facility because they have the potential to cause groundwater contamination and impact private or public water supplies and indoor air.
The day after the store was closed, CVS hired a contractor to begin excavating a 1,000-gallon underground heating oil storage tank on the property. The tank had leaked an undetermined amount of oil, which contributed to the strong odors inside the store. It was subsequently replaced.
The contaminated soil was also removed and the environmental impacts abated.
The fine was paid to the Pennsylvania Clean Water Fund, which is used to help pay for cleanups across the state.
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