MassDEP Penalizes Boston College $11,860
for Gasoline Dispensing Facility at Chestnut Hill Campus  
Inspection also finds other air quality and hazardous waste violations

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized Boston College $11,860 after a June 2007 inspection of the Chestnut Hill campus found a gasoline dispensing site operating without vapor-recovery equipment.  In addition, two of the college's emergency generators (located at the O'Neill Library and Conte Forum) did not have properly-designed exhaust ventilation stacks.  Improper signage was also found at hazardous waste accumulation areas.

Boston College dispensed gasoline from a 1,000-gallon underground storage tank for re-fueling certain maintenance, landscaping and other campus vehicles. The tank was installed, and had been operating, since 1994.  Under Massachusetts regulations, vapor-recovery (or so-called Stage II) equipment is required at gas-dispensing sites with capacity of 250 gallons or greater in order to capture and collect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that emanate during re-fueling. 

"Operating gas-dispensing equipment without vapor recovery meant that VOCs were escaping and contributing to the creation of ozone, which can reach unhealthy levels particularly in the summer," said Richard Chalpin, director of MassDEPs Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington.  "MassDEP is working to reduce these and other sources of pollutants that lead to the creation of ozone, and Boston College, to its credit, recognizes these types of violation are not acceptable and has taken immediate steps to correct it."

Boston College has ceased dispensing gasoline on-site and has agreed to remove the underground storage tank by no later than September 1, 2008. In addition, the generator exhaust stacks have been re-designed to be in compliance, and the signage at hazardous waste accumulation areas has been corrected. 

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills, and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

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