A&A Gas Inc. and Mash Petroleum Inc., the fuel services operator and owner at A&A Gas & Mart, have been named as responsible parties in an investigation into gasoline contamination at Broadway and California Drive that caused a power outage major road shutdowns in Burlingame, a statement from San Mateo County Environmental Health Services said.
Because there is sufficient evidence that fuel contamination exists on the property, the statement said, the property owner is now responsible for investigating and mitigating that contamination, the statement said.
The action doesn’t confirm the owner and operator are the source of the fuel contamination, and further information could require other property owners and operators be named as additional responsible parties, according to the statement.
The A&A Gas & Mart, located at 1100 Broadway, is near the Pacific Gas and Electric and AT&T vaults that have required a substantial effort to reseal and also major road closures on both Broadway and California Drive. Currently, California Drive north of Broadway to Lincoln Avenue is still shut down in both directions as that effort continues, Burlingame City Manager Lisa Goldman said.
A Jan. 13 letter from Jacob Madden, San Mateo County Groundwater Protection Program hazardous materials specialist, filed with the State Water Resources Control Board, also named A&A Gas Inc. as a responsible party for groundwater contamination at the site.
“Recently free-product was discovered in utility vaults directly adjacent and directly downgradient to your underground storage tank fuel system,” the letter read. “Based on evidence that detected fuel appears to be a new release originating from your facility, San Mateo County Groundwater Protection Program is opening a new remedial oversight case.”
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A similar letter was filed naming Mash Petroleum Inc.
Aaron Khamosh and Abe Khamosh of A&A Gas Inc., who were named in the Jan. 13 letter, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The naming of A&A as a responsible party for the seeping gasoline comes from samples collected at the adjacent PG&E machinery, the letter read. If further information becomes available requiring other entities be named as responsible parties, the Groundwater Protection Program requests that information be submitted to its office.
“GPP staff is naming A&A Gas Inc. as a responsible party for groundwater contamination at the above referenced site based on the presence of free product floating on groundwater in samples collected from the adjacent PG&E sump,” the letter said.
Preston Merchant, San Mateo County Health communications officer, said previously San Mateo County Environmental Health was investigating the cause of the seeping gasoline and looking to determine whether it was historical in nature.
In the 1990s, there were three active cases of fuel leaking from underground storage tanks in the area, which has been home to various gas stations over the years, Merchant said. Those cases were remediated from 2000-05.
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