You Know We Are In Trouble When They Start Drilling For Oil At Gas Stations

FTLComm - Tisdale - September 30, 1999

Though the headline is meant as a joke it is actually a true statement. On Wednesday afternoon this was the scene in front of the 7-11. The underground fuel tanks were installed in the summer of 1998 and there must be some cause for concern about their integrity because these fellows are drilling test holes around the area checking the soil conditions. In effect they are searching for oil. Usually people start to get suspicious when the volume of sales is lower then the amount of fuel put into the storage tanks which one might speculate would mean a leaking fitting or some other nasty problem. The good news is that Tisdale's clay based soil structure is virtually impermeable which means that if a tank does leak the dangerous chemical will not get into the aquifer and will be confined to the area of the leak. Though this minimises the danger it is still a serious matter and it is good to see this testing taking place.