Gas tanks land Slatington man in court again

A Slatington man who has been ordered by the State Department of Environmental Protection to remove gas tanks from his property is again scheduled to appear in court.

Ed Ziegler, 77, of 102 Chestnut Street, Slatington, will have a preliminary hearing before District Judge Rod Beck of Slatington at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 19. Ziegler's hearing has been postponed from its original date of Feb. 16.

The hearing pertains to the northern property Ziegler owns off State Route 873. As part of an agreement with the borough, Ziegler had until Dec. 31 of last year to clean up that property.

In November, Beck levied 48 charges against Ziegler for the southern property he owns on the east side of N. Walnut Street.

At that time, Ziegler was told he had until the start of this year to clean up his properties or face fines. Beck later granted Ziegler an additional 45 days to clean up his southern properties.

In the event Ziegler wouldn't have cleaned them up within that time frame, he would have faced a maximum penalty of $1,000 per day.

In December, DEP officials ordered Ziegler to remove three 6,000 gallon tanks of gasoline, and one 1,000 gallon tank of kerosene from his property.

The property has been identified by DEP as an old abandoned gas station, and DEP requested the tanks be taken out of the ground since the gas station is no longer in use.

Ziegler said he "inherited" the former Hilltop Texaco in the mid-1980s, when it served as a gas station/ car wash.