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Illinois environmental regulators this week issued a
citation to Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries for failing to remove a
dormant underground fuel tank. The permit for the unit expired in January.
No fines were levied, but Goodwill has 60 days to
comply with an order to extract the 2,000-gallon gasoline tank, which is
located 10 feet beneath a paved parking lot at the Goodwill complex at 800
N. 10th St.
The tank appears to be a sticking point in
negotiations between Goodwill and the Salvation Army, which was considering
buying the 10th Street facility, but now is likely to look elsewhere. Soil tests were conducted at the site earlier this
spring. Dave McDonna, development director for the Salvation Army, declined
to discuss the results of the testing or say whether they played any part
in the Army’s decision to consider other sites. The Salvation Army, which says it has outgrown its
current facilities at Sixth and Carpenter streets, has been looking for a
new Springfield location for its headquarters, a community center, and new
shelter for more than three years. As for Goodwill, its tank has been a problem for a
number of years. The Office of the State Fire Marshal requires that
any underground storage tanks that have been out of service for more than
five years be removed. Federal investigators questioned Goodwill’s
then-executive director Larry Hupp about the tank in May 2005. An Illinois
State Police investigation later that year revealed that Hupp lied to EPA
investigators about when the tank became inoperable [see Bruce Ruston,
“Ill will,” April 27, 2006]. In August 2006, the Illinois fire marshal issued a
removal permit for the 2,000-gallon tank, which has not been in use since
the 1980s, according to state records. Goodwill twice scheduled to have the
units extracted, but cancelled both times. “It wasn’t being ignored,” said
Goodwill executive director Sharon Durbin. “If there’s what I
call ‘dirty dirt,’ we’ve got to deal with that.”
Although Goodwill officials were upfront about the
tank’s existence, the Army feared that the fuel tank may prove
hazardous to workers once demolition commenced on the 100-year-old
buildings. “The Salvation Army is reluctant to buy any
property that may have contamination,” MacDonna said. The Salvation Army now is scouting alternate sites,
with at least three acres, that can accommodate all the Army’s
services. Beginning Nov. 1, the Army will also serve as the city’s
emergency overflow shelter. “We’re still growing. The problem is just
getting worse for us,” MacDonna said. Meanwhile, Durbin said Goodwill may take the 10th
Street property, currently listed for $625,000, off the market, and
instead, convert the buildings into transitional housing units.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2007.
