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Buried tanks revealed

The Ishpeming City Council voted to authorize the city manager to seek permits for the removal of two underground storage tanks in the vicinity of First and Pearl Streets in downtown Ishpeming at a special meeting on Wednesday. The tanks were discovered by construction crews who were working to replace water infrastructure on Thursday. (Journal photo by Lisa Bowers)

ISHPEMING–Construction crews had to stop work on a portion of Ishpeming’s water project last week near the intersection of First and Pearl streets after they discovered two underground storage tanks.

The Ishpeming City Council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to execute permit paperwork required by the state for the removal of the tanks during a special meeting Wednesday.

GEI Consultants Project Manager Mark Stoor said crews had confirmed one of the tanks contained gasoline, but there is no indication of any contamination of the soil around the tank.

“They did some preliminary sampling, and they came up with gasoline in the one tank that we opened up,” he said. “The other tank isn’t open. There was a small gash in the top, but nothing spilled out from this.”

City Attorney Bonnie Hoff said officials were notified Thursday of the presence of the tanks, which were not otherwise shown on any city maps.

“When that was discovered, of course, all of the activities in that area of town regarding the water project were stopped,” Hoff said. “The area was properly flagged. Signage is there indicating that we have tanks.”

The tanks are located on a parcel the city purchased in 1957 as well as a significant portion of the right-of-way, Hoff said.

Stoor said preliminary cost estimates to remove the tanks fall between $15,000 and $20,000. Officials hope the expense will be covered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Rural Development, as a loan was secured through that agency to finance the water project.

“Because we hit it with the project, I believe RD will cover this, and we will have to check with them eventually, once we get ironed out what we are doing here,” Stoor said. “It should be part of the project; it was caused by the project work we did.”

Hoff said the situation is being handled in accordance with environmental statute.

Work on the water project cannot resume until the tanks are removed.

Before that can occur, Stoor said there are several steps that need to be taken by U.P. Environmental Service, a certified waste removal company out of Iron River.

“We actually still have to register the tank as an orphan tank, and at the same time we will file an intent to remove,” Stoor said. “With it being mostly in the right-of-way and with us discovering it, we do have to remove it. We will also have to register the city as a waste generator.”

Stoor said the tanks would need to be transported to a special facility in the Lower Peninsula after they are removed.

He said an orphaned tank, which is a tank without a viable owner, is owned by the state, so any future environmental issues at the site could be mitigated under the 2014 Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, which created an Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund using $20 million annually of the funds generated by a gas tax.

The tanks will likely be removed by the end of June, Stoor said, as long as the requirements to do so have been met by that time.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.

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