2,100 Leaking Underground Tanks Litter Indiana

The state environmental agency is in the midst of using $4 million in federal money to clean up 28 sites around Indiana with leaking underground storage tanks, although that will barely make a dent in the state’s problem.

The state Department of Environmental Management is tracking about 2,100 sites with leaking tanks, many of which contain gasoline and diesel fuel that can damage soil and groundwater.

Assistant agency commissioner Bruce Palin tells The Journal Gazette that the 28 sites being cleaned up using federal stimulus money typically have a responsible party that has abandoned the property or is bankrupt.

A $130,000 cleanup is planned for the dilapidated former Jerry’s Marathon in the Allen County town of Monroeville. The property owner hasn’t fixed the site despite warnings since 2006.