The Hagerstown Gas Leak That Wasn’t
- The Facts: Hagerstown Gas & Go, a Maryland gas station, had an underground gasoline tank whose leak detection system failed at least 14 times between May 19 and June 13, 2022. The company, 1000 Dual Highway, LLC, failed to investigate or report these repeated warnings as required by law.
- The Misconduct: The company knew its equipment was screaming “FAIL” for nearly a month and did nothing. They ignored mandatory 2-hour reporting rules and 72-hour investigation deadlines, only fixing the issue after an EPA inspection on June 14, 2022. Their excuse: the system wasn’t programmed correctly.
- The Stakes: This negligence risked a catastrophic leak of a 10,000-gallon gasoline tank into the local soil and groundwater. The penalty for this prolonged risk to public health and the environment: a paltry $10,219 fine.
Gas Station Roulette: How Hagerstown Gas & Go Gambled with Public Safety for a Month
Underneath nearly every gas station lies a potential environmental disaster: massive tanks holding thousands of gallons of toxic, flammable liquid. We trust that the owners of these facilities follow basic safety rules to keep that poison contained. An EPA consent agreement (docket number RCRA-03-2024-0127 which is also attached down below) reveals how 1000 Dual Highway, LLC, doing business as Hagerstown Gas & Go, betrayed that trust.
For nearly a month in the spring of 2022, the company’s own monitoring equipment for a 10,000-gallon underground storage tank (UST) repeatedly sounded the alarm. The system, a Veeder-Root TLS-350, registered at least 14 “FAIL” reports. Each report was a digital cry for help, signaling a potential breach that could contaminate the ground beneath Hagerstown, Maryland. The company’s response was silence.
The Non-Financial Ledger: A Debt of Trust
The real cost of this incident isn’t measured in dollars. It’s measured in the quiet corrosion of trust between a community and the businesses that operate within it. Every person who filled their tank at Hagerstown Gas & Go during that month did so under the assumption that basic safety protocols were being followed. They were not.
This wasn’t a hidden, undetectable problem. It was a loud, documented, and persistent series of warnings from the very system designed to prevent disaster. Choosing to ignore those warnings is a profound statement of priorities. It places operational convenience and the avoidance of repair costs above the health of the local water supply and the safety of the surrounding neighborhood. The debt owed is one of integrity, and a $10,219 check doesn’t even begin to cover the interest.
A Timeline of Neglect
The EPA’s investigation found a consistent pattern of failure from the station’s automatic tank gauge. The following timeline visualizes the 14 separate “FAIL” reports that were ignored by management between May 19 and June 13, 2022. Each bar represents a day a potential leak was flagged and subsequently neglected.
Legal Receipts: Three Counts of Willful Neglect
The EPA document doesn’t mince words. It lays out three clear violations based on Maryland’s federally-approved environmental regulations.
Count 1: Failure to Provide Adequate Release Detection
The company admitted its Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG) wasn’t programmed correctly for its “manifolded tanks,” causing it to fail constantly. They were running a broken system and didn’t fix it until a month after the EPA inspection.
From May 19, 2022 to July 17, 2022, the Respondent failed to provide adequate tank release detection for Tank 2, which is in violation of the tank release detection requirement of COMAR § 26.10.05… EPA Docket No. RCRA-03-2024-0127, Paragraph 29
Count 2: Failure to Report a Suspected Release
Maryland law is crystal clear: if your system indicates a leak, you have two hours to notify the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). For nearly a month, Hagerstown Gas & Go received failure after failure and never made the call.
From May 19, 2022 to June 13, 2022, the Respondent failed to report the FAIL reports to MDE within two (2) hours of the time in which monitoring results indicate a release may have occurred… EPA Docket No. RCRA-03-2024-0127, Paragraph 34
Count 3: Failure to Investigate a Suspected Release
After a suspected release is reported, operators have 72 hours to investigate. By never reporting the failures, the company also completely ignored its legal duty to confirm whether tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline were poisoning the earth beneath their facility.
On March 18, 2023, the Respondent informed EPA that the Facility had not contacted anyone to investigate the CSLD Tank 2 ATG Fail reports anytime from May 19, 2022 through June 13, 2022. EPA Docket No. RCRA-03-2024-0127, Paragraph 39
Societal Impact Mapping
Environmental Degradation
The three tanks at this facility were installed on December 31, 1986. They are nearly four decades old. An undetected leak from aging infrastructure like this is not a minor issue; it’s a slow-motion disaster. Gasoline contains benzene, toluene, and other carcinogens that can render soil sterile and permanently contaminate aquifers, which are underground sources of drinking water. This wasn’t just a paperwork violation; it was actively risking the creation of a local toxic site.
Public Health
The facility sits on Route 40, a major thoroughfare. Contaminated groundwater doesn’t respect property lines. It can migrate, potentially affecting nearby wells, streams, and residential areas. Long-term exposure to gasoline components in drinking water is linked to cancer and other severe health problems. The community was unknowingly exposed to this risk for weeks.
Economic Inequality
The final penalty illustrates the two-tiered justice system. A small business owner gambled with the health of an entire community and faced a fine of just over ten thousand dollars. For a business that sells thousands of gallons of gasoline daily, this amount is not a punishment. It is a minor operational expense, a predictable cost of cutting corners on safety and maintenance.
The Cost of a Life (or a Community)
$10,219
The EPA’s assessed penalty for a month-long, willful failure to monitor, report, and investigate a potential 10,000-gallon gasoline leak.
What Now?
A fine this small does not create change; it enables future negligence. Real accountability requires sustained public pressure and vigilance.
- Corporate Roles to Watch: 1000 Dual Highway, LLC; Facility Manager Jean Rohayem; Owner Abbass Abutaa. These are the individuals and entities legally responsible for the facility’s operations.
- Regulatory Watchlist: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) are the primary regulators. Their enforcement actions, or lack thereof, determine whether companies like this are held accountable.
- The Resistance: This case is a textbook example of why local organizing matters. Support community environmental groups that monitor local businesses and pressure regulators for stronger enforcement. Advocate for higher mandatory minimum fines for violations that endanger public health. Build mutual aid networks to support communities when, not if, a corporation’s negligence causes real harm. The system won’t protect you; you have to protect each other.
The source document for this investigation is attached below.
sources:
https://yosemite.epa.gov/OA/RHC/EPAAdmin.nsf/All+Dockets+by+Case+Number/RCRA-03-2024-0127
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