Thousands of contamination sites could be removed from cleanup list

Underground petroleum tanks are being replaced at a convenience store in Tallahassee.

From the Florida Tribune:

The chairmen of key House and Senate committees have filed bills that supporters hope could lead to the removal of hundreds or thousands of low-risk petroleum contamination sites from the state's cleanup list.

The two measures - HB 1385 and SB 2592 - would allow 4,985 contamination site owners to ask the state to declare that no further cleanup action is required if certain requirements are met.

Rep. Ralph Poppell, R-Vero Beach and chairman of the House Natural Resources Appropriations Committee, said removing low-risk sites would allow the state to focus on sites that pose a greater threat to groundwater. There are nearly 14,000 contamination sites remaining in the state.

"We keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars and I don't think we're getting as far as we should," Poppell said. He sponsored the House bill and Sen. Carey Baker, R-Mount Dora and chairman of the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee, sponsored the identical bill in the Senate.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ydsj5wr