GEORGETOWN, Del. (July 27, 2009)—The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has fined a Georgetown tire dealership more than $165,000 for violating the state's underground storage tank regulations.
Christy Tire and its owner, Salman Choudhary, were charged a $143,900 cash penalty for failing to submit information to the DNREC that their four underground gasoline tanks at 501 E. Market St. in Georgetown had sufficient maintenance and protection under state law. They also were levied $21,585 as reimbursement for money the department spent on the investigation, which began in October 2007.
Choudhary has 30 days to request a public hearing on the fine. However, he never acknowledged the May 7, 2008, notice of violation the DNREC issued against Christy Tire, and neither he nor any representative of Christy Tire appeared at the evidentiary hearing held in New Castle, Del. on May 27, 2009, according to Alex Rittberg, program manager of the DNREC Tank Management Branch.