Sunday, March 23, 2008

The case of the busted fuel oil tank may be cracked...

So according to a recent article in the Statesman, the city has finally discovered the owner of the underground oil tank that spilled sludge into Waller Creek (see article here). As you all may recall, we talked about this issue a bit in class earlier this semester.

After much "digging" through archives city officials determined that the city council granted permission to George W. Littlefield in 1910 to place a fuel storage tank "under the ground in the alley at the rear of his building." This discovery could have major implications for payment/liability of the fuel oil spill cleanup. The debate has been between The Driskol and the Littlefield Building as to who is the responsible party. The cost for cleanup was estimated at $220k

" 'We have not decided how to give the bill to the Littlefield, but we know they'll be responsible for some of it,' said Thomas Bashara, a senior environmental compliance specialist with the city."

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