The state Department of Environmental Conservation has fined the town of Owasco $1,400 for failure to monitor and keep records on three fuel tanks at its highway department as well as some malfunctions.

The town received a consent order dated Aug. 11 from the DEC for violations related to one 500-gallon above-ground tank for used oil storage and two underground tanks, one storing 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel and another, 1,000 gallons of gasoline at the Town of Owasco Highway Department, 6346 East Lake Road.

The fines resulted from 10 violations, including improper labeling, failure to maintain as-built plans, failure to keep weekly monitoring records for tanks and piping, failure to reconcile inventory records, failure to monitor for leaks between the bottom of a tank and the impermeable barrier and failure to perform monthly inspections.

The DEC determined the violations after inspecting the site June 30 and sent its initial consent order on Aug. 6, with a $2,800 fine imposed.

The DEC met with town officials on the same day for a settlement conference.

The first fine was then cut in half.

Violations stem from the 2006 tank project at a cost of $142,000, never entirely completed by Paragon Environmental Construction Co., of Cicero.

Town supervisor John Klink expressed relief the fine was reduced and said he believes Paragon was responsible for not completing the job. The town has sent a letter to Paragon asking them to reimburse the $1,400 fine.

Klink, who wasn't town supervisor during the tanks' installation, said the project was 95 percent completed in fall 2006. The town had paid for the complete project.

But Paragon's clerk of the works, still working on the project, was killed in an accident during the winter, and final touches on the project, labeling and some training for pump operators, including the highway superintendent, Michael Wilson, were never completed, Klink said.

Once the town was made aware of the violations, it contacted Paragon and the design engineer, Barton & Loguidice, to review the tank installation and tank monitoring system. During that site review, a faulty interstitial probe was found and repaired.

The tank gauging system was also improperly connected to the site computer as originally designed. Therefore, reports weren't being autopolled from the computer for reconciliation. Tank water and fuel volumes weren't recorded daily and fuel reconciliation was not completed.

Paragon is scheduled to make the proper connection to provide the automatic reports. Until then, daily real time tank volume reports will be printed from a dedicated tank gauge printer, then reconciled on a NYSDEC worksheet.

The town did not monitor the leak gauging system that it had in place for both tanks and piping on a weekly basis. Now it is keeping logs recording the monitoring. Monthly reports of the weekly leak inspections will be maintained onsite for at least a year.

The above-ground tank also had to have wood chips removed to improve monitoring leaks between the tank bottom and impermeable barrier.

Monthly inspections and maintainence of inspection reports onsite have begun and will continue for the next 10 years.

Tanks have now been properly labeled, and the town will submit 10-day inventory reconciliation records for the month of August to the DEC as part of its corrective action plan.

Meanwhile, a check for $1,400 has already been sent to the DEC.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net