USFS NEWS RELEASE
LAKE TAHOE — The U. S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is working with its permit-holder ARAMARK Parks and Destinations to develop a plan for fueling operations that does not use the resort’s underground storage tanks. The plan must undergo Forest Service review and meet all local, state, and federal requirements. As a precaution, the resort is pumping out the contents of the underground storage tanks, a process which is expected to be complete today.
The results of soil and groundwater testing conducted to date show that a reportable quantity of contaminated soil is present surrounding the underground storage tanks and that fuel is present in the surrounding groundwater. At the direction of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), ARAMARK is developing a work plan to begin remediation of the groundwater contamination and to conduct further testing to determine the extent of contamination. The further testing also will help to determine what additional remediation is necessary.
Lake water samples taken near the resort’s shoreline show no petroleum contamination. Earlier test results show the resort’s potable water supply is free from petroleum contamination.
ARAMARK reported a release to the NDEP on June 27, 2011. The release was discovered during the replacement of fuel pumps to two tanks that are a part of the underground storage tank system. During the replacement of the fuel pumps, repairs were made to the suspected source of the release. The fuel supplies resort operations, including its fleet of rental watercraft and the sightseeing paddlewheeler, the M.S. Dixie.
