A plan to remove old underground fuel tanks at the Grey County public works depot in Clarksburg turned into a good news/bad news situation.
At its meeting on July 13, county council heard both sides of the story about the fuel tanks project. On the good side of the ledger - the Clarksburg fuel tanks were the last remaining underground tanks the county had to remove. On the bad side of the ledger - the project cost a lot more than anticipated.
“It’s a slightly pricey good news story,” said Pat Hoy, the county’s director of transportation services.
The tanks were more than 30 years old and were removed in April 2023. During the project, the county discovered some soil contamination caused by manual overfilling and spillage during the lifespan of the tanks. No holes or cracks were found in the tanks and the fuel monitoring system had not indicated any leakage.
The site has been cleaned up, but the remediation work required pushed up the price on the project significantly.
The county originally budgeted $150,000 for the work. However, the total cost for the project came in at $367,052.77.
County staff plan to seek savings in other capital projects this year and use general reserves to fund the difference between the budget and the final cost.
“It is a clean site and it is our last underground tank,” said Hoy.
Earlier in the meeting county Director of Finance Mary Lou Spicer told county council that the completion of the fuel tank project was a big benefit for the county’s bottom line.
“It’s our last underground fuel tank, we will no longer be disclosing it on our insurance renewals,” she said.
