Gas spill at Sinclair general store cleaned up

SINCLAIR – A gasoline spill at a general store on Route 161 has been cleaned up.

The problem at Martin’s General Store, located between Long and Mud lakes, was reported by its owner, Jenny Beaulieu, on Sept. 15, according to Carl Allen, oil and hazardous materials specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The store had two gasoline pumps within 300 feet of the road.

Allen said Thursday the owner reported gasoline vapors in the store that afternoon. An investigation by a DEP specialist found gasoline in the sump pump in the cellar of the store and 3 inches of gasoline in an old monitoring well at the site.

DEP had done an extensive cleanup at the site in 1987 when a camp owner across Route 161 from the store reported fumes. Gasoline was found to be leaking in the waters of the thoroughfare. Allen said an extensive cleanup was done, and a second cleanup, on a smaller scale, was done in 1999 as well.

“We are still investigating where the gasoline came from,” Allen said. “We know it was not the piping, but we have not nailed it down.

“It probably has something do with the pumps at the site,” he said. “We were able to do the remedial work while the store remained open.”

The owners could not be reached Thursday. An employee said they were not at the store, and there was no answer to telephone calls at home.

Allen said the Beaulieus bought the general store in April or May of this year. Its previous owner was Richard Martin, a son of the original owner. Several people have owned the store in the last decade.

A contractor removed 1,300 yards of gravel and dirt from the scene last week. The entire front and side yard of the store was dug up and refilled.

All that remained Thursday was to re-install the gasoline island and pumps and hot-top the driveway, according to Allen.

The store was vented, a recovery system was installed to control vapors, and a recovery well was dug to control fluids.

Allen said a municipal sewer system installed during the 1990s stopped the leakage of gasoline from going to the thoroughfare.

The project, which will cost more than $50,000, has initially been paid for by the state. Allen said the owners would be applying to the Groundwater Spill Fund to pay for the work. There may be a deductible involved.

Allen said the spilled product was fairly fresh. “It was recent,” he said.