Leaking U.S. Oil Tanks Top Exxon Valdez Damage

More than 500,000 leaks in oil tanks in gas stations have been confirmed around the US, with the Government Accountability Office saying in 2007 that the total bill for cleanups would top $22 billion, Kate Yoder reported for the environmental online outlet Grist.

Photo Insert: Of the roughly 450,000 brownfields in the country, nearly half are contaminated by petroleum, much of it coming from old gas stations.

Those old, decrepit storage tanks have left a legacy: overgrown, empty lots that real-estate developers don’t want to touch.

Of the roughly 450,000 brownfields in the country, nearly half are contaminated by petroleum, much of it coming from old gas stations. Today, the top five largest oil firms own about 1% of gas stations.

The number of stations overall has been in decline for decades thanks to mediocre profits, rising land values in cities, and more fuel-efficient cars.

Between 25% and 80% of gas stations nationwide could be unprofitable in 12 years — and that analysis was conducted in 2019. The shift to electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to a pileup of vacant gas stations that the existing cleanup programs cannot handle.

There are more than 145,000 fueling stations in the US, said the National Association of Convenience Stores. Even if the country manages to break off its century-long attachment to gasoline, the fuel’s legacy may live on in the soil and water.

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