EPA’s Underground Storage Tank Program located and removed two 1,000-gallon underground storage tanks at the former Smith Lake Trading Post. The former trading post started operations around 1906. The original trading post was a large, cut stone building with gas pumps out front.

The tanks may have been buried for more than 70 years and were taken out of service in 1981. The trading post burned down in 1995.

The tanks were permanently decommissioned and taken to a recycling facility for scrap metal. Petroleum product stored in the tanks could have leaked into the soil and potentially into the subsurface and groundwater and find its way into the nearby Smith Lake.

As part of the abandoned tank removal process, EPA collected soil samples in April of 2016. Contamination was below federal and tribal standards.

Site Information

Former Smith Lake Trading Post (NAV398), Smith Lake, NM, McKinley County

The Smith Lake Trading Post was located on NM Route 371, 12 miles north of Thoreau, NM.

Former Smith Lake Trading Post, Latitude 35.521944 N, Longitude -108.139444W (S20 T15N R12W) | Click to enlarge