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Annapolis finance committee backs $630,000 CIP to remove buried oil tanks on 4th Street
Summary
The committee recommended creating a $630,000 capital-improvement project to excavate buried oil tanks found during 4th Street repairs, adopting an amendment that splits $330,000 from General Roadways and $300,000 from the capital reserve.
The Annapolis Finance Committee on Oct. 15 recommended creating a new $630,000 capital-improvement project to remove multiple buried oil tanks discovered during a 4th Street roadway repair.
Lisonbee DiMaggio, a Department of Public Works engineer, told the committee crews found additional tanks while excavating a sinkhole and that Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) opened an oil-control case. “The tanks need to be excavated,” DiMaggio said, and the work will include environmental testing and possible remediation if downstream contamination is found.
Committee members pressed staff on funding and consequences. The chair said the discovery began during a road-repaving effort: “We found an oil tank in the street when we were trying to repave it.” Council members warned that taking hundreds of thousands from the road-resurfacing line could reduce this year’s resurfacing work; one member said the choice could cut resurfacing by roughly 20 percent if left unamended.
Finance staff outlined alternatives, saying a portion of the capital reserve remained available and could be used to limit the impact on the general roadways program. After discussion, a committee member moved an amendment to make the project total $630,000 with $330,000 transferred from General Roadways and $300,000 taken from the capital reserve. The amendment passed on a voice vote, and the committee gave a favorable recommendation to proceed as amended.
Committee members and staff emphasized that MDE’s open case requires the city to address the contamination and that ownership of the tanks could not be determined; DiMaggio said the tanks are in the city right-of-way and are believed to predate modern records, estimated as installed “somewhere in the early 1930s.” The committee noted that additional funding requests could arise if testing identifies broader contamination and that future budget cycles could consider backfilling roadway allocations.
The committee’s favorable recommendation advances the new CIP to the next stage of review; the matter will return to the council or relevant legislative body for final appropriation following the usual approval process.
