More than $50,000 Awarded to the Virgin Islands to Clean Up Underground Petroleum Leaks Across the Territory

Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. said Friday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Virgin Islands $57,000 in federal stimulus funds to assess and clean up underground petroleum storage tank leaks. The cooperative agreement between the EPA and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) includes a detailed plan for how the funds will be spent. 

DeJongh said that “leaking underground storage tanks are a major source of ground water contamination and the funds provided by the EPA will lead to the creation of jobs to both investigate and clean up the petroleum releases from leaking tanks, which post threats to both the health and environment. The greatest hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, which is a source of drinking water.”

The funds provided to the territory by the EPA will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is either unknown, unwilling or unable, or the cleanup is an emergency response. DeJongh said the $57,000 award is part of the $200 million appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be used for addressing shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. 

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For additional information on EPA’s implementation of ARRA in the Virgin Islands, visit http://www.epa.gov/region02/eparecovery/ or contact DPNR Commissioner Robert S. Mathes at (340) 774-3320.