First Student Bus Company Fined $120,000 By DEP For Diesel Spill

The state Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday that it has fined First Student, the company that provides transportation services for the Council Rock School District, more than $120,000 for a diesel fuel spill that occurred in Newtown last year.

First Student Inc. has been assessed a $121,520 penalty for a November 2010 release of diesel fuel from its school bus terminal in Newtown, DEP officials said.

“This incident at First Student required the emergency response of five government agencies and disrupted a water utility’s operations for six days,” DEP’s Southeast Regional Director Joseph A. Feola said. “With proper operation and maintenance of its above-ground storage tank, the company could have prevented this incident.”

On Nov. 8, 2010, a First Student employee opened a valve to drain rainwater from a containment tank that housed a 10,000-gallon leaking fuel tank, according to information provided by the DEP. The valve remained open overnight and allowed a mixture of water and diesel fuel to run from the terminal into Newtown Creek and, eventually, into the Neshaminy Creek, upstream from a public water system operated by Aqua Pennsylvania Inc.

In spite of corrective actions made by First Student, including the use of absorbent booms, vacuuming and the excavation of contaminated soil and gravel, Aqua PA had to shut down its Neshaminy water treatment plant intake on Nov. 9. This required the utility to maintain a drinking water supply for more than 100,000 people through interconnection, increased production and the purchase of additional water, the DEP said.

The incident resulted in violations of Pennsylvania’s Storage Tank Act, Clean Streams Law, Safe Drinking Water Act and Fish and Boat Code.

Inspections of the facility after the incident revealed an ongoing lack of required tank maintenance and leak detection equipment that allowed for pollution.

First Student has paid civil penalties of $41,550 to the state’s Storage Tank Fund, $13,619 to the Clean Water Fund and $56,250 to the Safe Drinking Water Account.

The company has also reimbursed DEP for $7,600 of expenses incurred in response to the release and paid $2,500 in civil damages to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.