Gas stations

[mustangjoe]

I've noticed that when a gas station gets torn down, and a new one goes up it's all done pretty quickly and smoothly without delay.

However, when a gas station is torn down and the underground tanks are removed to make way for a hise rise, strip mall or whatever, how come the land is fenced off and stays vacant for a significant amount of time? i.e over a year???

Can someone enlighten me on why this is and for how long the land needs to breath for?

I'm a very curious boy.

 

[Strannen]

Vacant gas station lots

They have to vent the ground before they can build. Take a look at a site where a garage was torn down. There are usually a number of pipes sticking up from the ground. Those are there to vent any gas (not gasoline) buildup deep down. Over the years, a lot of gasoline and oil seeps into the earth under a gas station. This becomes gaseous over time and stays trapped under the surface.
It's fine to simply build another gas station on top of it, but city regulations require a "venting period" before any kind of residential or commercial structure can be built on the site.

So...what does this question have to do with SP's? Did you notice someone standing near an empty gas station lot?

 

[mustangjoe]

You'd think with today's technology they would have come up with a way to vent it quickly while still being safe.

Some of these sites are vented for well over a couple of years.

 

[dirtydan]

You'd think with today's technology they would have come up with a way to vent it quickly while still being safe.

Some of these sites are vented for well over a couple of years.

One would think so, but Mother Nature works best.

 

[Penhold]

What you are seeing is not just venting, but the remediation of a contaminated site by the use of bio-organisms and other means to help treat the fuel, oil and lubricants that may have contaminated the ground over the years. Otherwise, the contaminated soil would have to be excavated and removed to an approved waste disposal site for proper disposal in accordance with environmental regulations which can be more expensive.

This process takes time, depending on the degree of contamination. They take soil samples periodically and when the contamination level has dropped to below permissible levels, the site has been "remediated" and is ready for development. This is why some sites are ready for re-development much quicker than others - all depends on the initial level of contamination. If a gas station or garage has been on the site for years the soil can be badly contaminated (old fuel tanks had a habit of rusting and leaking badly, and it wasn't that long ago that pouring used oil and lubricants on the ground wasn't thought about twice).

 

[therealrex]

The part I like though is that as long as you're putting up another gas station no one gives a crap about how contaminated the land is.

 

[BushPilot]

The part I like though is that as long as you're putting up another gas station no one gives a crap about how contaminated the land is.

I don't think it's that nobody gives a crap. If the land is zoned for a gas station, you can build another one there, no problems. If you want to get the land rezoned, then you have to go through the process which includes the environmental cleanup.

 

[LonelyGhost]

never mind gas stations ... most insurance companies will refuse coverage for homes with underground oil tanks: diesel is now considered to be an environmental toxin and if it leaks out of the oil tank, the damages and costs can be huge.

they shut down your house, they come in with suits on and dig everything up ... they may even evacuate your neighbours ...

there was a case in victoria where an underground tank leaked at a gas station and contaminated the houses nearby ... the company shut the gas station and ran and left people to clean it up themselves at huge cost out of their own pockets because their insurance wouldn't touch it and the gas company wouldn't own up to the problem.

the gas company ended up selling the land and some developer just built townhouses on it.

nice.