HUNTINGTON -- The sign reads $1.30.9 for a gallon of gas, but don't expect to fill up at the pumping station at the corner of Adams Avenue and 3rd Street West anytime soon.
The sign is a daily reminder to nearby residents and motorists that the gas station has been abandoned for years. And if that doesn't do it, the weeds, cracked pavement and boarded-up windows probably will.
The deteriorated condition of the property might not be the only obstacle holding it back from redevelopment. Like most abandoned gas stations, the real problem could lie beneath the surface.
"There are lots of factors that play into why these kinds of properties aren't being redeveloped," said George Carico, coordinator of the Southern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center at Marshall University. "Sometimes the land is too small for a house or business. Unless you can combine it with adjoining land, you're stuck.
"But the main reason is the concern about underground storage tanks. If someone wants to buy it, no bank is going to give them a loan until they know there isn't any potential for environmental hazards."
Carico has helped the Cabell County Commission apply for a $200,000 assessment grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. If approved, the grant will allow the county to locate abandoned petroleum sites, identify the owners and gather public input to prioritize which ones should be addressed first. The county then could apply for additional EPA grants to clean up the properties.
"There are several areas that need attention in the county, and we get complaints about them frequently," said Chris Tatum, assistant county manager. "The grant process gives us an opportunity to clean up these properties and prepare them for residential, recreational, commercial or industrial use."
Government help needed
There are at least 10 former gas station sites in the Huntington area that are either vacant or have been turned into auto repair shops. Nationwide, there are an estimated 450,000 brownfield sites, half of which involve a petroleum-based substance that has leaked from an underground storage tank, according to the EPA.
Carico said a common misperception about these sites is that they are owned by large, profitable oil companies.
"A lot of the time, it's an independent owner that owns the property, but people associate it with big oil because it may still have the company's logo on it," he said. "The only reason the sign was ever there was because the owner was buying gas from the company."
The 1980s saw a major shift in how gas stations were run, Carico said. Large oil companies sold corner gas stations in the hearts of towns and in rural areas and built new locations next to interstate highways. Small business owners gobbled up the stations that the oil companies left behind, but new environmental regulations made it difficult to turn a profit.
In 1988, the EPA issued new standards for underground storage tanks to prevent leakage. Tanks already in the ground had to be upgraded by 1998, Carico said.
Station owners also had to demonstrate that they had the financial resources to clean up a leak and compensate any third-party entities affected by it.
"This meant all these mom-and-pop stations had to start carrying a huge amount of insurance, plus they had the looming burden of upgrading tanks," Carico said. "They simply didn't make enough money to operate and were forced to close."
This is why government intervention is needed in cleaning up these properties, Carico said. The EPA's assessment grant program puts redevelopment on a fast track.
When the owner of a contaminated site is identified and the local government shows the property can be put back to productive use, the state Department of Environmental Protection will either pressure the owner with fines or convince them to give it or sell it to the local government at a reduced price, Carico said.
"There's incentive for the property owner to participate in the process," he said. "If the assessment work shows there is no contamination, DEP will write a closure certificate saying the site is clean. That opens up opportunities for the owner."
An eyesore for neighborhoods
Huntington residents who live near old, dilapidated gas stations say they are glad to see officials take steps to clean up the sites.
Jay Bowen, who lives near an abandoned Rich station on Norway Avenue, said residents have been forced to clean up the property several times. It is a haven for illegal dumping and vandalism, he said.
The property is overrun with tall grass and weeds and boards that once covered up the doors and windows to a small building have been torn off.
"It's a shame for our whole neighborhood and really the whole city," Bowen said. "It's on a main thoroughfare into the downtown."
City Councilman P.D. Adkins can relate. For the past three years, he has battled with Wheeler-Clevenger Oil Co. of Louisa, Ky., to do something with the rundown Sunoco gas station that it owns in the 2800 block of 3rd Avenue. Adkins' predecessor, B.W. Ellis, dealt with the company for at least five years, he said.
The station has turned into a dumping ground, Adkins said. Some people park cars they are selling on the lot, because it is along a busy thoroughfare.
"Every time I contact the company, they come and clean it up, but I shouldn't have to do that," Adkins said. "They are the ones who should be forced to either put in a new facility or clean it up to where it's in a position to be sold. I particularly don't want my tax dollars to go toward cleaning up a property owned by a profitable enterprise."
The company did not return phone messages seeking comment.
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