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Pete Giambanco, Sr. MAY 2 n 1993 Claim No. 830 Final Division Decision Page 5 Beginning in December of 1990, Giambanco repeatedly missed the deadlines imposed and during the indepth review performed at the county on February 2, 1993 he was deemed out of compliance with the county' s corrective action directives and permit require- ments . These delays jeopardized both the environment and public safety. Sections 28il (a) (4) and 2811 (b) (3) provide that "" . . . [w] ith respect to corrective action costs, . . .an owner or operator of an underground storage tank. . . shall be entitled to reimbursement for such costs only if the claimant took corrective action in accordance with any applicable provisions of Chapter 6 . 7 (commencing with Section _25280) of the California Health and Safety Code and the Federal Act . " (Emphasis added) Also, for corrective action costs incurred after December 2 , 1991, the. claimant must be in compliance with applicable corrective action requirements . Section 2804 defines gross negligence as "failure to act by the owner or operator, its employees, agents, or any other person under the owner' s or operator' s supervision or control, in reckless disregard of the consequences, which causes or allows an unauthorized release from an underground tank to occur or to continue . " (Emphasis added. ) Section 2810 .3 provides that "" [n] otwithstanding any other provision of Article 4, corrective action costs and third party compensation claim costs which are occasioned by or result from the gross negligence or the intentional or reckless acts of the claimant or the agents, servants, employees or representatives of the claimant, are not eligible for reimbursement from the Fund. " Beginning in December 4, 1990 and continuing until his death, Giambanco repeatedly ignored corrective action directives from the county, and was grossly negligent by allowing free product to flow unabated. His failure to act allowed an unauthorized release to continue in reckless disregard of the consequences . He violated Sections 25284-25292 of Chapter 6 . 7 of the California Health and Safety Code and the sections listed above in the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund Regulations . This precludes him from being an eligible claimant to the Fund. You do not contest the fact that Giambanco was out of compliance with corrective action directives issued by the county. You assert that this was due to ongoing litigation with Shaughnessy for recision of the purchase agreement and to the subsequent deaths of both parties involved. Ongoing litigation is not a mitigating factor in the cleanup of contamination. Irreparable damage can be done to the environment and personal property while