Alley Fuels is a bulk fuel distributer and card-lock retailer on the Banks/Lowman Highway, approximately 5 miles west of Garden Valley, Idaho. The facility consists of 5 above ground storage tanks (from approx. 5,000 to approx. 10,000 gallons) containing gasoline and diesel fuel. On April 15, 2003, Brico Oil, the supplier to Alley Fuels, reported to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that 5,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline was unaccounted for and suspected to have leaked into the ground from one tank at the Alley Fuels facility. Upon inspection, a hole was found in the bottom of the tank. The leaking tank is 470 feet from the Middle Fork of the Payette River, with an approximately 50 foot elevation drop to the River. The owner/operator of Alley Fuels indicated to DEQ and EPA that he did not have the resources to conduct necessary site investigation to determine the extent and migration of spilled gasoline in subsurface soils and groundwater.
On 7/14/03, EPA and EPA's START contractor mobilized to the site to conduct site investigation sufficient to determine whether spilled gasoline presents an significant threat of discharge to waters of the U.S..
