Traces of ethanol found near DPW garage

During a routine inspection on May 19, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation found traces of ethanol in one of six monitoring wells near Rockville Centre's Department of Public Works garage on Sunrise Highway.

The wells were installed after gas leaks that occurred earlier this decade, and the DEC has been performing regular checks on them ever since. The finding of ethanol happened to coincide with the village's plans to remove and replace each of the tanks with upgraded tanks, and to clean and replace the surrounding soil.

There is only one tank containing diesel fuel that is still in use at the site, and two gasoline tanks that are no longer used have been properly pumped out, abandoned and filled with concrete under the supervision of the DEC and Nassau County Fire Marshal, said Rockville Centre's spokesman, Jeff Kluewer.

According to Kluewer there have been two leaks — in 2000 one of the gas tanks leaked, and in 2008 the other gas tank's piping leaked. Since those leaks DEC inspectors have regularly visited the DPW garage to ensure no additional leaks were occurring and to test water in the monitoring wells.

In August, the village will remove and replace the tanks and perform the soil remediation. The process, expected to take 8-10 weeks, will bring the village’s tanks, which are used to fuel its official vehicles and garbage trucks, in compliance with DEC code that requires all tanks and piping to be double walled and embedded in concrete by 2012.