Stations must upgrade or stop selling gas

A deadline that requires gas stations to upgrade fuel tanks in order to protect the groundwater has passed, and motorists will likely see some shuttered gas pumps in Highlands County and the state.
Gas retailers had nearly 20 years to comply with an environmental protection law that requires double lining of underground storage tanks and pipes.

With the law taking effect Jan. 1, some stations and convenience stores have opted to shut their pumps down.

According to a Department of Environmental Protection list, of 15 Highlands County retailers who have not completed the required upgrades, six businesses are "out of service" and nine are "in service," which denotes that the work is scheduled to be done.

Businesses that had a contract for the work, signed before Dec. 31, were allowed to continue to sell gas provided the improvements are completed in the spring.

That's the situation for the Mobil Mart at the corner of Kenilworth Boulevard and Highlands Avenue across from Sebring High School.

The convenience store's manager, Abdullah Mamun, said Monday the tank upgrading work is scheduled to be done by the end of June and will cost around $130,000.

He's not sure exactly when the work will be done, but it will interrupt their gas sales for about four to five weeks.

The B.A. Petroleum convenience store at 3323 U.S. 27 N., just south of the Sebring Walmart, hasn't sold gasoline since Hurricane Charlie damaged its pumps and canopy.

The store's four fuel tanks were OK after the storm, but it would cost at least $150,000 to double wall the tanks, said manager Sam Khan. It used to sell Shell gas.

The owner decided to remove the tanks and they were dug up last week and trucked out on Friday, he said.

"Right now, there are so many gas stations closing because people have no money to replace the tanks," Khan said. They either stop selling gas or close the whole store.

Despite the deadline, some store owners procrastinated, according to Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

They waited thinking that when the time came they could either borrow the money and get the job done or that the Department of Environmental Protection or the Legislature would extend the deadline, he said.

Neither the Legislature nor the DEP considered a deadline extension, Smith said. This is the final of three deadlines. Borrowing, too, has become tough in today's economy, especially since it costs an average of $250,000 to comply with the requirement, Smith said.

It has not helped that the state took $211 million from a trust fund earmarked for cleaning up contaminated sites to cover the budget deficit.

Previously, banks would accept a letter of eligibility for a site that needed cleanup, in the event of a foreclosure, Smith said. Even if they foreclosed, they knew they were still eligible for state funding to clean up the site.

"If they foreclose now, the site may still be eligible, but they are not sure there will be any money there to clean it up," he said.

The inside sales at convenience stores are 34 percent tobacco-related, he said. Gasoline, at least, provides enough income to pay the mortgage or rent.

Coupled with last year's large tax increase on tobacco, convenience stores who stop selling gas will find it tough to survive unless there is a fast-food restaurant nearby or something else with drawing power, Smith added.