Fuel Spill

[timjet]

I just got an e-mail from the admin staff at the storage facility where my boat is for the winter. Apparently due to the full fuel tanks and the boat being shrink wrapped, fuel is being vented overboard.

I left a message with the staff but they haven't contacted me back yet. They e-mailed me 3 pics, one is below.

They will have to clean it up and I will of course be responsible for the bill. I'm thinking of flying to the boat and doing - I don't know what. I guess I should de-fuel 10 gallons from each of the 3 tanks.

 

[jleonard]

Yes you need to remove some fuel from the tanks. That happened to a friend of mine a few years ago. He took 5 gal out of each tank and was fine until spring.

 

[Skinny]

Kitty litter


Soak it up, shovel the top surface into 5 gallon buckets or contractor bags, take to dump as contaminated waste. You will get it done for probably a fraction of what the yard will charge.

 

[Larry M]

Call your insurance company ASAP. Don't wait!

 

[kraftee]

I second what Larry said. Call your insurance company. If the boatyard has contacted the DEP or EPA, you may be liable for a big clean-up with remediation plans, monitoring wells, stripping towers, etc. Don't ask me how I know. Particularly ridiculous because a few gallons of diesel fuel does not migrate much (if at all) once it hits the ground - even with groundwater close to the surface as here in South Florida. A few buckets and a shovel SHOULD be all you need to remove the contaminated soil. However, the propeller-heads at some regulatory agencies are incapable of making ANYTHING simple - logic and common sense don't even enter into their thoughts! .

 

[Skinny]

Yeah, someone is going to pay big money for a certified clean up company to take care of it with kitty litter and a shovel...doh!


Good luck! No one should have to go through that.

 

[Ski in NC]

Yard might not freak out and make a big deal out of it. Most yards do not like a lot of attention from enviromental nazis.

Talk to them and see if they will do the kitty litter thing and suck down some fuel from the tanks. For pay, of course. They might be reasonable.

 

[Giggitoni]

Florida has a 25 gallon reporting limit. In other words, one doesn't have to report a spill less than 25 gallons. Your spill is clearly less than 25 gallons.

The responsible party still has to clean the fuel up. However, the yard does not have to report it to the state.

Absorbent (kitty litter) and into a five gallon bucket with lid and label. Take it to the local county "hazmat" drop off. You're done. The yard probably handles a handful of this type of cleanup per year. If I owned the yard, I wouldn't charge since you're a good customer!

 

[kraftee]

Hopefully, like Ski said, the yard will not (or does not have to) report it. We had a "spill" at our South Florida dealership that turned out to be roughly 5 gallons of diesel that had been dripping from a fitting under our diesel pump. Mitigation ended up costing over $100,000 and also cost us the sale of the property (buyer couldn't get a mortgage with an open EPA "problem"). I realize that it is not directly analogous to the OP's problem - but that is exactly how regulatory agencies turn a mole hill into a mountain!

 

[Giggitoni]

Once fuel gets on groundwater, it's a different story with usually a bad ending...

 

[River Cruiser]

I have dock neighbor who's 410 SeaRay pukes out gas every spring when the weather starts to warm up. No one calls the epa or any other agency to report it, boats are in the slips year round. We do call the owner and he will come down and take it out on the river and run a few gallons out. I don't worry about topping off my fuel tanks before I winterize, I figure what little air exchange that happens thru the vent doesn't hold enough moisture to worry about, the water trap has no problem handling it.

 

[fstbttms]

There is no way a boatyard is going to let a non-employee handle fuel spill remediation.

 

[Art]

Far as I can see - topping off tanks is just not needed. Especially with good water separation apparatus/means. Also, I firmly believe that Soltron additive greatly diminishes water and other non wanted items in fuel.

Maybe if you just showed up and cleaned things up... then spread fresh, clean gravel so that area looks really good... the lookie-lews would crawl back into their caves!

Best luck with this clean up.

 

[Skinny]

I really like the fact that major oil suppliers world wide pump countless gallons of crude into the environment in every corner of the planet and suffer absolutely no penalty. Our own EPA turns it's cheek on the Clean Air and Clean Water acts so that large corporations can frack and drill natural gas. All of that absolutely destroys the planet. Simply search for flammable tap water and you will see the outcome.


DONT YOU DARE SPILL A DROP OF DIESEL FROM YOUR BOAT THOUGH...


I'm on the fence, part of me would make all of that disappear quickly with methods mentioned above. The other part wants to call the insurance and let them deal with it. We pay them so much money every year, let them deal.


Happy New Year

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Florida has a 25 gallon reporting limit. In other words, one doesn't have to report a spill less than 25 gallons.

Site please.

 

[kraftee]

I wasn't aware of that 25-gal limit either Capt. Bill, but here it is...


Office of Emergency Response (OER) | Florida DEP

 

[Giggitoni]

It's how I make my living. I won't charge you a consulting fee!!! Thanks for posting the reference, Kraftee.

There are some exceptions. We have to report a spill of any size if it hits water, navigable or not. However, not in the case of the OP because it looks to be on pavement. The worst that can happen there is a need to replace the pavement which diesel and gasoline can weaken (about 20% of the time).

Edit: I looked at the photo again. It appears to be gravel. If that's the case I would recommend replacing the gravel and taking the diesel-contaminated gravel to a disposal location. The yard can suggest a location. I'm sure it's not their first rodeo.

 

[windmill29130]

Can't imagine that little bit being a big deal, but what do I know. I spill more gas in my driveway filling up my push lawn mower.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

I wasn't aware of that 25-gal limit either Capt. Bill, but here it is...


Office of Emergency Response (OER) | Florida DEP

Thanks

 

[markpierce]

Once fuel gets on groundwater, it's a different story with usually a bad ending...

Ray, I don't doubt your statement, considering your profession.

 

[psneeld]

I work for a remediation company....and have personally responded on several spill like this..


Doubt it will be a big deal, yes it can be costly...that's why most of us have insurance...thousands maybe...hundreds of thousands unless it was more than a couple dozen gallons...not likely.