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District awaiting Miller Environmental testing on Bushville underground storage tank; insurance and DEP reporting possible
Summary
Staff said Miller Environmental will return to test a suspect underground heating-oil tank at Bushville Elementary, and the district is meeting with its insurer; if soils sampling shows contamination, Miller will handle DEP reporting and remedial actions and the district may seek to convert the building’s boiler to propane.
District staff on June 4 told the Property & Facilities Committee that further testing is planned to investigate standing liquids around an underground storage tank at Bushville Elementary and that insurance and environmental reporting remain unresolved.
Daryl (staff member) said Miller Environmental would return to the site in about a week to complete testing and to try to determine where water entered the tank; staff emphasized that investigators had asked them “to be cautious of saying that there was any infiltration” until testing and soil samples are conclusive. Daryl said the tank is not a registered tank because it holds heating oil rather than motor fuel, and the insurance company has not denied the claim; the district planned another meeting with the insurer the following day.
Staff described the next steps if testing finds contamination: Miller would collect soil samples, prepare any necessary reports to the Department of Environmental Protection and recommend remedial actions. Daryl said that if the tank cannot be used, the district could convert the Bush Gill Elementary heating system to propane and install an aboveground tank; staff said they would bring a recommendation to the board in July if warranted.
Why it matters: potential soil contamination under or near school properties can require DEP reporting and remediation and can drive replacement of heating systems and associated capital expenses. The district is treating the matter as an open investigation and has not concluded that a release occurred.
Next steps: staff will report back after additional testing and after the meeting with the insurer; any recommended remedial work or system conversion would be brought to the board for approval.
