TL;DR
- The EPA cited Umstott, Inc., a franchisee that operates a single 7-Eleven store (#36952) in Keyser, West Virginia, for six separate underground storage tank compliance violations.
- The violations are missed testing deadlines: line tightness tests, leak detector tests, release detection monitoring, and monthly walkthrough inspections were all completed late, in some cases by weeks.
- Inspectors also found the facility’s spill containment buckets full of liquid on multiple documented dates between mid-2023 and mid-2024, meaning the equipment meant to catch fuel spills during deliveries was not functioning as required.
- Umstott, Inc. agreed to pay a $31,000 civil penalty and neither admitted nor denied the specific factual allegations.
- 7-Eleven, Inc., the parent corporation, is not named as a party in this action. This case is against the independent franchise operator.
The gap between the required 30-day testing window and when tests actually happened stretched past three weeks more than once, and one spill bucket was found completely full of liquid on three separate inspection dates over ten months.
What The EPA Actually Found
The facility at 2 Mineral Street in Keyser, WV runs three underground steel fuel tanks installed between 1985 and 1989. Federal and West Virginia rules require regular testing of the equipment that detects leaks and catches spills. An EPA inspection on June 18, 2024 documented six categories of missed deadlines.
- Line tightness and leak detector testing (Counts 1-2): Both tests were due by May 11, 2022 and again by June 7, 2023. They weren’t completed until June 7, 2022 (27 days late) and June 13, 2023 (6 days late).
- Spill prevention equipment (Count 3): From May 2023 through May 2024, the facility’s spill catchment buckets failed monthly walkthrough inspections for not being free of liquid. The Tank 2 bucket was documented as completely full on July 25, 2023, April 15, 2024, and May 6, 2024, and about 75% full on June 10, 2024.
- Annual release detection system testing (Count 4): Due by May 11, 2022 for all three tanks, not completed until June 13, 2022, a 33-day lapse.
- 30-day release detection monitoring (Count 5): Tanks 2 and 3 missed their required 30-day monitoring windows five separate times between June 2023 and February 2024, with gaps ranging from about one week to three and a half weeks.
- Monthly walkthrough inspection (Count 6): Due by February 7, 2024, not completed until February 21, 2024, a 14-day lapse.
Timeline: How Long Each Deadline Was Missed
Legal Receipts
“Respondent neither admits nor denies the specific factual allegations set forth.”
- This is the standard structure of an EPA consent agreement: the company pays the penalty and agrees to the jurisdictional facts, but does not formally admit wrongdoing on the underlying allegations.
- It means the $31,000 penalty resolves the case without a legal finding that the violations definitely occurred as described, even though the specific dates and test results are laid out in detail elsewhere in the same document.
“The Tank 2 spill bucket was documented to be completely full of liquid” on multiple dates.
- Spill buckets exist to catch fuel that spills when a delivery hose is disconnected from the fill pipe. A bucket already full of liquid cannot do that job.
- The EPA documented this specific failure on three separate dates spanning July 2023 to May 2024, plus a fourth date where the bucket was about 75% full.
Respondent “failed to conduct the specified walkthrough inspection at least every 30 days.”
- Walkthrough inspections are the monthly checks meant to catch problems, like a full spill bucket, before they become a bigger issue. The inspection due February 7, 2024 wasn’t completed until February 21, 2024.
Umstott, Inc. “consents to the assessment of a civil penalty in the amount of thirty-one thousand dollars ($31,000.00).”
- This is the full financial penalty for all six counts combined, calculated under the EPA’s 2023 Revised Consolidated Enforcement Penalty Policy for underground storage tanks.
Who’s Involved
- Respondent: Umstott, Inc., a corporation based in Bedford, Pennsylvania, that owns and operates the franchised 7-Eleven store at 2 Mineral Street, Keyser, WV.
- Signatory: Todd Umstott, Owner and President of Umstott, Inc., signed the consent agreement on the company’s behalf.
- Also served: Mike Minniear, listed as Operations Manager for Umstott, Inc.
- Regulator: EPA Region 3, acting under Section 9006 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, with notice given to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
- Not a party: 7-Eleven, Inc., the parent brand, does not appear as a respondent anywhere in this document. This is a franchise-level enforcement action.
The source document for this investigation is attached below.
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