Posted on 12/19/2025 6:04:33 AM PST by know.your.why
In 2014, California passed a bill mandating that all gasoline storage tanks in the state of California be upgraded from single wall tanks to double wall tanks. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2026. As a result of this law, across the state 473 gas stations will close.
The law was passed because the single wall tanks during an earthquake would crumble, and then the gasoline would seep into the groundwater or the soil contaminating it. While the law sounds reasonable, the average cost to upgrade a gas station from a single wall tank to a double wall tank is around 2 Million dollars. For many small and independent gas stations, that is out of reach as that is more than the facility is worth.
RUST was a program, which stood for removing, replacing and upgrading underground storage tanks. The loans were supposed to help finance 100% of the replacement of the tanks. The loans are slow to be dispersed, and as a result many shop owners never got the money to fix them. Here is where this will be an issue, in many of those communities those gas stations not only serve the public but first responders like the fire department and the police departments, and in case of natural disasters may be the only facility open to help fuel vehicles. Now they will be shut down, and no replacement is in the works. The stations that are going to close aren't the big ones, they can afford it and will pass the prices on to the consumers. The small mom and pop are going to close, which means that you will drive further and might have to go 20-30 miles to fill up and pay more at the pump. Distribution points are now going to shrink, and make it harder to fill. Gasoline in California is now going to cost more, and filling your tank will get harder and more expensive.
With about 10,000 gas stations in California this will probably hit rural and poorest areas the hardest
Reagan’s curse:
“Hi. I am here from the government, and I am here to make sure I help you with her problem.”
Sounds like CA is going back to horse & buggy days ... then again, horses fart so would probably be outlawed.
As gas is moving to under $2.00 a gallon outside the liberal hellholes, I look forward to the Trump “I did that!” Stickers on gas pumps.
Before he turned to the dark side near the end of his life, the late P.J. O’Rourke said, “if you think health care costs a lot now, wait until it’s free.”
The closing of 437 gas stations out of compliance with the underground tank regulation saves them from going broke there s no gas to sell.
With the loss of 20 % of California refining capacity, other stations will fail for lack of available product to sell.
California will absorb he complete supply of $16,000 Tesla Model 2’s that are hitting the market.
This is just another “law” to snuff out as much fossil fuels as possible. For the environment of course.
Typical LIB nitwit insanity.
If you are “living” in Cali...ask yourself “why?”.
“... loans were supposed to help finance 100% of the replacement of the tanks. The loans are slow to be dispersed,...”
They should have hired a few Somalis as consultants. They don’t seem to have any trouble getting government money.
It’s ok. With all the refineries leaving California they won’t need the gas stations anyway.
This will probably extend to homeowners too. Those that have buried tanks holding fuel oil will probably be affected in the future. The homeowner will be required to dig up the tank and replace it.
General Dynamics bought and later closed a facility in California. They offered jobs to the laid off employees at commensurate but adjusted salaries in other facilities. The former Mexicans but now citizen employees took the jobs and stayed. To my knowledge all of the native born Californians stayed in California. At another company they hired a few engineers from California during a slack labor time there. They spend most of each day looking for employment back in California and all were gone within the year. I’d spoken to them all and their reason was the California culture. Which, I have to admit, is wildly different. I’d characterize that culture as liberal to woke. Compared to the California people even our more woke people looked conservative.
Worked in the environmental field as a consultant for years. Oversaw a lot of old tank removals. I’m surprised there are still single wall tanks left in California. Indiana was removing them in the late 80’s-early 90’s. They are an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Most hold 10K gallons of fuel when full. A rupture would destroy a water table for miles downstream. The ‘newer’ tanks were metal with a fiberglass shell.
This has been the law in Michigan for decades. I removed my fuel oil tank and switched to natural gas because of that sometime around 1980. A farmer friend also had to remove his diesel fuel tank and switch to a double wall tank, as well.
California aka CaliFUBAR
I agree to the upgrades. The state of California should take some of that $40 Million to fight Trump to upgrade the tanks.
Horses defecate, which is far worse. Before automobiles, American cities produced many tons of horse crap each per day. Street sweeping was serious business and disposal even more serious. The eco-freaks hate combustion engines, but have no idea what being buried in tons of literal horse crap is like.
Most of the tanks in West Tennessee are double walled. New ones definitely are.
We’re in the New Madrid seismic zone.
More of Gavin Newsom’s war on “Big Oil” which he claims is jacking up the price of gas in California to $5.00/gallon, when it is his own foolish Green Energy and Climate Change fantasies that are “fueling” this:
“Oil and gas expert USC Professor Michael Mische found that the factors contributing to California’s high gasoline prices over 50-years are self-imposed by state officials and politicians – the professor used 50 years of data.”
He will bring this nation-wide if he becomes POTUS.
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