CITY FAILS TO MEET FUEL TANK DEADLINE.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

City officials are scrambling to close or replace outdated underground fuel tanks in a last-minute effort to comply with a federal environmental rule that was passed 10 years ago and takes effect today.

The 1988 requirement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a deadline of today for buried fuel tanks to have a double lining to prevent toxic leaks into the soil or groundwater.

But the task, divided among several city agencies, fell short of the deadline in Los Angeles, officials said.

Thirty to forty installations that were supposed to be upgraded - including the Los Angeles Police Department's Devonshire and West Valley stations in the San Fernando Valley - weren't finished by Tuesday and have been closed temporarily.

As a result, police officers and other workers will have to drive to other sites, on city time, to refuel vehicles, or will buy gas at regular service stations at a higher cost.

``Somebody in the city dropped the ball,'' said Eric Rose, district director for City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who introduced a motion at a council meeting last week to expedite fuel tank replacement.

``It is unacceptable to Councilwoman Chick that we knew 10 years ago that we would have to meet these federal regulations, and at the twenty-third hour it still isn't done. This situation can best be described as the death of common sense.''

Rose said that while several agencies were involved in replacing the tanks, none was in charge of the job.

Officials spent $19.3 million upgrading 450 tanks between 1988 and 1996, but only 125 of those meet current federal standards, according to a city report.

During that time, the Bureau of Engineering replaced outdated tanks with double-lined versions at some sites, said Les Iden, assistant general manager of the city's General Services Department.

Meanwhile, Iden said his own department, at the council's direction, spent $11.5 million between 1990 and 1994 retrofitting leaking tanks to meet environmental rules in effect at that time. But it did not install double-layered tanks to meet the upcoming standards.

``This situation is a perfect example of best intentions gone awry because of mixed messages and priorities,'' said Deane Leavenworth, spokesman for Mayor Richard Riordan. ``It points up the need for accountability in city government.''

Early this year, responsibility for the entire fuel tank program was transferred to the General Services Department, Iden said.

On Tuesday, the General Services Department closed about 150 refueling sites that lack double liners, to avoid federal penalties of $11,000 to $25,000, officials said. About 120 of those sites already were scheduled for closure under a fleet streamlining program.

However, thirty to forty still are needed by city agencies, but were closed temporarily while new tanks are installed, Iden said.

Iden said he expects that the upgrades will take about five weeks each, and said the entire project should be finished by late spring.

Yvette Sanchez Owens, an LAPD commanding officer in charge of police facilities, said officers at Devonshire, West Valley and other divisions will use gas credit cards and fill up at commercial stations while the work is in progress. That will cost more, but will save time, she said.

``This is the best alternative that we could do,'' she said. ``The other alternative was to not issue credit cards and have them drive to the next police facility, which will put them out of commission for a good hour.''

City officials said they don't know how much extra cost will be involved in using commercial gas stations, but that the money will come mostly out of the General Services Department. The department's $8 million gas fund has an unusually high balance due to lower gas prices, so the surplus might be large enough to cover the added expense, Iden said.

The council motion last week also called for creating a committee of city officials to oversee fuel tank replacement, and allotted $3.9 million for the work at top-priority sites such as the tanks under City Hall. The motion also waived competitive bid requirements, and took some sites including the West Valley and Devonshire police stations off the permanent closure list.