Bredesen Announces Recovery Act Funding to Clean Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites
Friday, July 10, 2009 | 07:51am
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced today that Tennessee will receive more than $4.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use toward clean-up activities at approximately 44 leaking underground storage tank sites across the state. Most of the sites are already known to have had a release of petroleum to the environment and many still contain petroleum underground storage tanks that have been abandoned by their owners without being properly closed.
“These funds provided by the Recovery Act will allow contractors to put more people on the job of performing this important environmental cleanup work,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “In addition to the benefit gained by cleaning up petroleum contamination at specific sites, the funds will provide for the purchase of equipment that will be available for use at additional sites in the future.”
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has contracts through its existing leaking underground storage tank grant program with three underground storage tank corrective action contractors. Under ARRA, the contractors will be subject to extensive reporting requirements to track jobs created and environmental results achieved. The ARRA grant will also fund 18 corrective action systems to be used to remediate specific sites approved by EPA, benefitting both the equipment manufacturers and the environment. This equipment will become state property and will be used at other sites in the future.
“Leaking underground storage tanks can pollute both soil and groundwater, and these Recovery Act funds will go a long way toward helping to clean these sites and restore the surrounding area,” said Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke.
All ARRA funds through this program must be spent by Sept. 30, 2011 and at least 35 percent must be obligated and 15 percent spent in the first year.
Information on this grant, including the list of sites identified for cleanup activities, is available on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Recovery Act Web site at www.tn.gov/environment/recovery.
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