SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE FILE 2

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Kriston D. Qualls, Esq. - 2 - 1005 As discussed below,petitioner's contentions are not persuasive. There is substantial evidence in the record to support a finding that a release has occurred during petitioner's ownership of the site. Thus, the County acted appropriately in naming petitioner as a primary responsible party and may order petitioner to proceed with corrective action. BACKGROUND The property that is the subject of the petition is located at 2705 Country Club Boulevard in Stockton, California. The site has been operated as a gasoline service station since the mid-1970s. In September 1991, Exxon—the property owner at the time—collected soil and groundwater samples at the site as part of a Property Transfer Environmental Investigation. Groundwater sampling data indicated that benzene ranged from below detection limits to 240 parts per billion(ppb). Total petroleum hydrocarbons as gasoline(TPHg)ranged from below detection limits to 630 ppb. Consequently, an unauthorized release report was filed with the County on September 27, 1991. Shortly thereafter, quarterly groundwater sampling began at the site. All underground storage tanks(USTs)were removed from the site on March 31, 1994. In December 1995,New West Petroleum(New West)purchased the property from Exxon. New West installed three new USTs in March 1996. Groundwater samples collected from site wells were first tested for methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in July 1996; MTBE was detected above the 5 ppb method detection limit(MDL) in the samples from on-site wells MW 1 (90 ppb) and MW3 (220 ppb), and off-site wells MW6(93 ppb)and MW8 (5.1 ppb). In May 1997, vapor extraction well VEW3 was constructed at the site roughly 15 feet northeast (downgradient)of the new USTs to a depth of 10 feet below ground surface(bgs). Two soil samples-from the well boring,collected at five and ten feet bgs,tested "non-detect"for gasoline ri*petroleum hydrocarbons(TPHg-<1 parts per million(ppm))and benzene,toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes(BTEX) (<O.1 to 0.5 ppm)via Method 8015 and volatile organic compounds via Method 8240(<O.1 to <0.5 ppm). On November 21, 1997,petitioner purchased the property from New West. A groundwater sample collected and analyzed from VEW3 in February 2001 tested non-detect for BTEX(<0.5 ppb)and TPHg(<50 ppb); MTBE was reported at a concentration of 2.1 ppb. The well was again sampled in May 2001 and the analysis revealed non-detects for all constituents(the MDL for MTBE was 5 ppb). California Environmental Protection Agency Recycled Paper