Former Fresno gas station’s underground tanks pumped out

More than 4,000 gallons of gasoline were pumped out from three underground storage tanks in Fresno on Tuesday in a cleanup overseen by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The tanks are at the site of the former Valley Gas at 2430 E. Olive Ave. A service station operated there until 2004. The tanks are single-walled steel and susceptible to corrosion and leaking.

Once the gas was pumped out, a contractor was to seal the tanks with concrete plugs.

The EPA is overseeing similar cleanups at eight other sites in Fresno and Kern counties. That work will occur over the next two weeks, with $102,000 being spent to complete the task.

Since 2012, EPA and the California Water Resources Control Board have identified 340 abandoned sites in California where fuel remains in underground tanks. More than 170 underground tanks have been removed or closed in that period. Cleanup at such sites allows the properties to be redeveloped, the EPA said.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Former Fresno gas station’s underground tanks pumped out."