Gasoline Responsibility

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Meet Our Geologist!

Our full time Geologist and Geological Team have many responsibilities. Scroll down to find out what they are!

Images of geologist and crew at gasoline siteWhat does a Stewart’s Geologist do?

At a similar company our geologist would be an “Environmental Director” but we’re unique in that the position at Stewart’s PERFORMS the work (including field work) rather than just hiring it all out.  We basically run a small geological consulting firm in-house and are the consumer of our own work!

What are the three main components of this position?

 Real Estate Due Diligence

We are a company that truly cares about the communities we serve. We will purchase property that may have been an old gasoline station/convenience store etc. Sometimes these old buildings leave ground contaminants behind. Our geologists and real estate team run ground contamination tests. Before any construction takes place, Stewart’s makes sure all contaminants have been removed.

Compliance

Compliance is a big part of the job. All our gasoline storage tanks are checked and monitored regularly. Our shop Partners perform a gas dip daily where they check the gasoline tanks for water. Stewart’s also conducts internal audits/inspections monthly. New York State liked this process so much that they made monthly checks the standard for gasoline providers!

Geological Remediation

Good examples of remediation are tank replacements and removing full tank systems from the ground. There are a series of steps we take during remediation projects.

  • First, our geological team conduct soil and ground water assessments.
  • Once the sample has been collected and an assessment has been made, a report is sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
  • If there happens to be any kind of contamination our team takes care of it on site quickly and efficiently.

Stewart’s is a vertically integrated company, meaning that we have more control over operations. We do not outsource a clean up crew, we are the cleanup crew. The DEC gets to work with the decision maker directly. This enables us to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Spill Prevention

We put a lot of time and effort into gasoline spill prevention. It’s vital that we protect the communities we serve by ensuring a clean and safe environment.

At Stewart’s Shops we care about contamination.

Contamination can migrate over time and won’t stop at property boundaries, meaning ground contamination can impact our neighbors and wildlife. In addition to environmental protection, we know that if you’re contaminating the ground then you’re losing the product you intend to sell and can lead to high costs for cleanup. We feel with all the things at risk, it’s worth the investment to put maximum effort into compliance and maintenance.

                                            An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – Benjamin Franklin

We have a high standards when it comes to inspections, regulations, and maintenance.

We take compliance very seriously. It shows we are committed to our neighborhoods, increases trust with regulators, and it’s the right thing to do.

 

All our gasoline tanks are double walled, and our pipes are multilayered for protection.

If a tank does leak, a series of things will happen:

 

  • An alert will go off immediately (uses a line leak detector).
  • The pump underground will shut off automatically.
  • The partners in the shop and our Gas Marketing Team are informed. 

These are just a few safety precautions we take in order to prevent contamination.

Your Community Partner

Contamination cleanup, regulation, and constant monitoring are all part of our community responsibilities.

 

Stewart’s Shops Responsibility:

By cleaning up ground/soil contamination that was left behind by previous land owners, running compliant facilities and training employees for vigilance, we can avoid negatively impacting the environment/our neighborhoods, save costs, create goodwill with the public, and increase the amount of trust and credibility we have with regulatory agencies.

Examples of Stewart’s projects that have made a positive impact:

pencil bullet 1Liverpool Shop   pencil bullet 1Rouses Point Shop   pencil bullet 1Yorkville Shop

In these three cases, the previous owners were unable to afford cleanup and neighbors needed it to get done. We removed all contamination that was left over from the previous business owners and installed our double walled tanks with all necessary precautions. Actions like this are truly meaningful, not only for the community but also for the regulatory agencies that have been monitoring those locations in the past.

Stewart’s Shops & Regulatory Agencies:

Regulatory agencies have expressed their satisfaction when Stewart’s Shops takes on existing fueling stations because they know we’ll clean up any legacy contamination and run a tight and compliant facility going forward.

The goal is to always strengthen our communities!

One of our Geologists calls Stewart’s Shops a “White Knight” for many communities. This is because we’re not afraid to spend more money to make things right. All our properties are cleaned before reselling or building a shop.

Stewart’s Shops is a vertically integrated company, this means:

  • We have more control over operations.
  • We can take a flexible approach to each project.
  • We have the ability to be more nimble than competitors, and make decisions quickly & efficiently.

Our vertical integration allows us to act as a neighbor in the communities we are a part of, which fits with our culture of long-term thinking.  We live in the communities we serve, we own (with few exceptions) all our real estate, so we care about the health of our properties and neighbors.

We are a direct contact company.

Communication and problem solving are done right on site. This saves time and money by not working with outside vendors. It also helps us maintain control (employees and cost), cuts out unnecessary mark-ups, and enables us to negotiate pricing directly as an “owner” rather than an uninvested third party.

Precautionary measures are taken very seriously by Stewart’s Shops.

We’re a local family-owned company and our reputation and relationship with our communities means more to us than some of the other companies who are not local.  It’s the same attitude that drives our Holiday Match Program that invests in our communities and increases good will back and forth.

 

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