In brief

The city has paid $2,500 to the Orange County Health Care Agency for

extra work after failing to get permits for an underground fuel tank.

“We got ahead of ourselves,” said Dave Niederhaus, the city’s general

services director, about the automated fuel system. “We should have

waited until we had the permits in hand.”

Niederhaus added that the tank had not posed a health threat at any

time. The city stored about 300,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel

in three locations -- City Hall, the police station and the city’s

utilities yard on Superior Avenue.

The tanks at the yard had been retrofitted to comply with new

regulations, Niederhaus said. But instead of waiting for an inspection of

the improvements, the city moved on to the next phase of improving the

tanks and installed an automated fuel system.

The county district attorney’s office had originally filed a lawsuit,

asking that the city be ordered to pay a penalty of $75,000.

But Niederhaus said that the county’s health care agency had not

planned to pursue the matter. The district attorney’s office agreed to

withdraw the suit after the city agreed to shoulder the cost for the

agency’s extra work.

“We’re happy to get it behind us,” Niederhaus said.

-- Mathis Winkler