DERR-2024-005511

MEMORANDUM

TO: Avery Holyoak, Remedial Action Section Manager

THROUGH: Mark Crim, LUST Project Manager

FROM: Kimberlee McEwan, Assistant Attorney General

DATE: August 21, 2023

RE: Responsible Party and Cost Recovery Status
Red Duck II, Facility Number 1200062, Release MUZ

Based on DERR records, two 600-gallon underground storage tanks (USTs) were installed at
2809 Monroe, Ogden, Utah (Property). Weber County Recorder records show a series of
individuals owning the Property from 1930 to 1974, when it was sold to By Rite Distributing,
Inc. Because 1974 was almost 50 years ago, it is presumed that those persons are either deceased
or elderly. The most recent owner prior to By Rite Distributing, Earl B. Cragun, passed away in
2006. After the Property was purchased by By Rite Distributing, two 4,000-gallon USTs were
installed at the Property in 1976 or 1977. There is a note in the file that By Rite Distributing also
installed one tank in 1969 before purchasing it, so By Rite must have leased the station prior to
purchasing it. Bi Rite Distributing was dissolved in bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy trustee sold
the Property to Bob N. Hardy in 1986. Bob Hardy owned the station for 4 years, and I believe he
is still alive and living in Layton but is 86 years old (his wife Shirley appears to be 87 years old).
Bob N. Hardy sold the site to Hardy Enterprises Inc. in 1990. Hardy Enterprises was
incorporated in 1986 (filed with the Division of Corporations on January 21, 1987), with Bob N.
Hardy owning half of the shares and Shirley R. Hardy owning the other half of the shares. Hardy
Enterprises, Inc., is still an active corporation, with Dennis E. Haggard listed as the Registered
Agent, Director and President, and Tammi Jo Haggard listed as Vice President and Director,
both with an address of 1507 South 2750 West, Syracuse, UT 84075. However, Hardy
Enterprises owned the Property for less than one day.
Hardy Enterprises, Inc., sold the Property with three USTs to Golden Spike Enterprises Corp.
Golden Spike Enterprises got onto the Petroleum Storage Tank Fund (PST Fund) in 1991 (April
10, 1991).
Golden Spike Enterprises Corp. entered into a land sales contract to sell the Property to Red
Duck Enterprises Inc. The USTs were still covered by the PST Fund at the time of the sale. Red
Duck Enterprises Inc. claimed a “Notice of Contract” on the Property on September 28, 1994,
and signed an UST Notification form on July 25, 1995, for the three USTs. Red Duck chose to
participate in the PST Fund on April 29, 1997, and temporarily closed the tanks via a notice
received by the DERR on December 24, 1998. The last installment payment was paid from Red
Duck to Golden Spike Enterprises and the land was officially transferred on July 30, 2001. That
same day, Red Duck Enterprises sold the Property to AJK Partners Inc.
The USTs were removed on July 27, 2001, prior to the sale of the Property to AJK Partners
Inc. Therefore, the tanks installed in the late 1960s-early 1970s were in the ground for 31 years
from approximately 1970 to 2001. By Rite Distributing, who declared bankruptcy and no longer
exists as of 1987, owned or operated the USTs for at least 16 years of those 31 years from the
time they were installed until 1986. Bob N. Hardy, now age 86, owned the tanks for 4 years prior
to selling the Property to Hardy Enterprises, Inc. in 1990, which immediately sold them to
Golden Spike Enterprises that same day. Golden Spike obtained PST Fund coverage as soon as
that coverage became available in 1991, and the USTs were covered until removal on July 25,
2001. The DERR did not force either Golden Spike Enterprises or AJK Partners to take and
submit closure samples after the tanks were closed in 2001, not sending a Notice of Non-
Compliance until 2010 to Khan Corporation, which purchased the Property in 2005, long after
the tanks were removed. Khan Corporation was never a responsible party. Khan Corporation
submitted an UST Closure Sampling Plan in 2011 and submitted sampling results that same year.
The release was not discovered until 2011, and nobody made a claim on the PST Fund until
November 7, 2011, well over one year from the date the tanks were removed in July 2001 and,
therefore, PST Fund coverage was denied.
Because the tanks were covered by the PST Fund and the DERR did not follow up on closure
samples until 9 years after the tanks were removed, the DERR has determined that it will not
seek cost recovery against those companies that owned the tank but had obtained PST Fund
coverage. Bob N. Hardy owned the tanks for four years, prior to the PST Fund existing, and may
be a responsible party for a small portion of the release if the DERR can prove that the release
occurred during his 1986-1990 ownership, which seems very unlikely. All other RPs are
presumed deceased or, in By Rite Distributing’s case, dissolved.