More on AZ gas stations

EPA put out a press release yesterday on the Route 66 Initiative to deal with abandoned gas stations along the Mother Road in Navajo County, AZ. The initiative has been covered here previously.

Here’s the upshot:

EPA and the Arizona DEQ had a couple of public meetings yesterday and today — one at the incomparable La Posada in Winslow and one at the Navajo County fairgrounds in Holbrook — to discuss initiative.

The idea behind the program is to clean up the underground gas tanks, which pose a threat to the environment by leaking fuel into the water supply. Such cleanups are extremely expensive, and the property owner often gets stuck with the bill, which scares off a lot of roadies who otherwise might buy a historic gas station and restore it the way preservationists have done in Odell and Mt. Olive, IL, and Chandler, OK.

According to the press release:

In June 2004, ADEQ launched its Route 66 Initiative to investigate and clean up leaking underground tank sites. … Nearly 100 sites, or 28 percent, still need further investigation or cleanup.

Redevelopment at many sites has been slow and many abandoned gas stations remain idle. The EPA and ADEQ have partnered to explore viable options to stimulate redevelopment along Arizona’s Route 66 corridor. …

“The Route 66 Initiative is an excellent example of how partnerships can make a significant difference in the underground tank cleanup program,

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