Debtor's three facilities have a total of 8 USTs that have been out of compliance with the regulations for USTs as documented in four inspections on 2-26-07, 8-10-07, 10-22-08 prior to the bankruptcy filing and one inspection post- petition on March 15, 2010. The tanks need to be upgraded or permanently/temporarily closed. EPA documented violations of 40 CFR Part 280, including failure to monitor every 30 days, failure to monitor for releases, failure to test cathodic corrosion protection, failure to install overfill prevention device, and failure to have line tightness test.
The United States filed a motion requesting that any penalty assessed in this bankruptcy matter be treated as an administrative claim, and the Judge made that determination. The Judge also determined that the penalty in the administrative case would be allowed in this bankruptcy case. Those determinations by the Judge were necessary in the bankruptcy case and also required before the administrative settlement could be considered as final.