98 Ton Cement Dome Failure

Unfortunately it sounds like BP's 98 Ton Cement Dome that was intended to act as a funnel to control the main oil spill in the Gulf has failed, so they are going to have to try something new to stop the leak.

The good news is that we could put the 98 Ton Dome to work right here in South Seattle! BP could drop that very same dome on top of their AMPM store at 5620 MLK to control the amount of trash that spews out onto the streets from their property! Unlike the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico I'm almost 100% sure that the the dome would be effective here!

BP Oil Spill and Columbia City

I've been posting over on the Columbia Citizens Wiki about BP's environmental practices in our own neighborhood. Am I the only one that is not surprised that this company with a deep lack of caring for our neighborhood is also responsible for one of the largest environmental disasters of all time? The Seattle Times has updates on the oil spill here.

P Patch Program

The city of Seattle is looking for areas to develop new P Patches. It would be so awesome if they were able to develop the unused portion of this AM PM to be used as a P Patch rather than a trash-patch which BP seems to use it as now.

Maybe if you are feeling kind you could take a minute to suggest that to the city of Seattle? They are looking for new p patch locations and you can suggest one here. you can read more about the program here.

If you are filling out the form, the address for this location is 5620 Martin Luther King Way South and the owner of the property is BP WEST COAST PRODUCTS LLC 6 CENTERPOINTE DR LA PALMA CA 90623

reporting illegal dumping

Just a reminder that Seattle Public Utilities does take illegal dumping seriously. People can report problems by calling (206) 684-7587. An online report form and more information is available here.

Nuisance Properties Update

The nuisance properties ordnance is continuing its way through the system, a full vote is expected by November 30th.

from the article in the PI

"The ordinance would define "chronic nuisance properties" as places where crimes or drug dealing or other nuisance activities occur at least three times within 60 days, or seven times in a year. Offenses such as prostitution, weapon violations, assaults or gang-related activity would be included in the definition.

The police chief would be given authority to declare a property a chronic nuisance. The owner would be notified in writing and given seven days to respond. The property owner would then have 30 days to work with the police on a plan for clearing out the nuisance activity, or face penalties of up to $500 per day for not complying."

Abandon Vehicle

People often wonder what the rules are in Seattle when it comes to abandon vehicles. This is often a problem next to the AM/PM store on MLK as they have created a perfect place for people to dump abandon vehicles and the owners of the store never seem to get around to turning them in. Just in case your looking for information on what to do, here is the city of Seattle's municipal code.

See links on our home page for info on where to report illegal dumping and abandon vehicles.

BP Consumer Relations Service Request Acknowledgement

I got another letter from BP, here it is with my response


BP WRITES TO ME! Wed, 01 Jul 2009

> Dear Joel,
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> Thank you for taking the time to email us. We are always pleased to hear from our valued customers. We apologize for the problem you have encountered at the ARCO station located in Seattle, WA. Providing quality fuels and customer service is very important to BP. The event you described occurred at an independently owned and operated ARCO station. We have forwarded your concerns to the station owner and have requested they respond directly to you regarding your experience. We have also notified a BP field representative to review your comments. Please allow at least 3-5 business days for a representative to follow-up with you directly.
>
>
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> Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact BP Arco Consumer Relations at 1-800-333-3991.
>
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> Once again, thank you for your recent email. We hope we have been of service to you.
>
>
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> Thank you for your business.
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> BP/ARCO">BP/ARCO Consumer Relations | USA
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> Phone: 800-333-3991
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> FAX: 630-300-5253

From me...July 3rd, 2009

Dear BP,

Thank you for your reply concerning the mounds of trash piling up at your Arco AM/PM station at 5620 Martin Luther King Way South.

I really don't care who comes over from your company to pick up the trash, but if you don't pick it up soon and start picking it up regularly that I will have no choice to turn you over to the DPD for failing to maintain your property. Your lot is an eyesore and a detriments to the whole neighborhood.

I think it's great that you think this is the responsibility of the 'independently owned and operated ARCO station.' however when I look up the parcel data for this lot it is clearly owned by BP WEST COAST PRODUCTS LLC 6 CENTERPOINTE DR LA PALMA CA 90623. Guess what?!? That means that the maintenance of the property is the responsibility of your company despite your seemingly inept business structure which attempts to put the responsibility on an obviously uncaring franchise owner.

If you continue to operate this way it either means that you are terribly un-knowledgeable or you must think that I am stupid? Either way I hope that your company takes the initiative to PLEASE PICK UP YOUR PROPERTY!

-JOEL

Thanks

Thanks to the Columbia Citizens Wiki for the link. It's good to know that people in the neighborhood keep up with this issue.

BP Customer 'Service'

I contacted BP customer service again exactly one month ago. They wrote back for address confirmation which I happily provided to them (they could have just found it if they read this blog) and after a few weeks they still had not gotten back to me so I sent a follow up email and they wrote me back and said "Thank you for taking the time to send us an email recently. We are always pleased to hear from our valued customers. We have located this station and we apologize for the problem that you encountered at the BP/Arco station in Seattle, WA. However this is an Independently Owned Station and we have forwarded your concerns to Upper Management over the station for proper handling and also requested for a follow up call to you regarding this matter. Please allow 3-5 business days for a follow up call from Upper Management not including weekends." But that was over a week from now...so why do I get the feeling that they are avoiding me?

In the meantime there is another abandon car on their parking strip, I guess I will turn it in eventually. I think that this is about the 15th stolen car that I have turned in parked next to or on their property? It's actually quite sad for my neighborhood.

BP, one of the most polluting corporations in the world

I emailed BP customer relations again with more photos of the trash around their store, they emailed me back for some clarification but other than that I have not heard back from them. It's funny to me to see some BP commercials where they pretend to be environmental but in reality they can't even pick up the trash around their own store. Nice Greenwashing!

The truth is that Mother Jones named them one of the worst companies in the world in both 2000 and 2005 and is considered by the EPA to be one of the most polluting companies in the country.

Really BP...if you can't even pick up the trash that is on your property right in our neighborhoods, why should we believe that you care about the environment at all?

shots fired

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattle911/archives/160306.asp

no surprise, shots fired outside of Arco am/pm the other day.

still waiting

same trash behind the store still has not been picked up in a month.

arco the bad neighbor

I realize as I post these that it must seem like I am making this all up, there is no way that a company can keep doing business while having such complete disregard for the community, right? Another cell phone photo of the trash currently on the side of the building, maybe this is their attempt at landscaping?

Convenience stores suck

I have an AM/PM mini mart gas station in my neighborhood that sucks and is causing a lot of problems in my neighborhood and I'm starting this blog with the hopes that other people out in the world will find it and be able to share similar problems and solutions and maybe even tips for dealing with these kinds of stores.

Although there is a lot of crime, the real problem is trash. There is trash all over the sides and back of their lot. It creates an environment where people don't care. And when people don't care it leads to more problems and more trash.

I've talked to the staff at this store several times and asked them to pick up the trash (or to at least report illegal dumping to the city) but have not been able to motivate them to pick up their property. If this was not enough, they also fenced off a side of their property making a convenient area for people to dump stolen cars and mounds of debris without being noticed. All things considered they are detracting from the quality of life in my neighborhood and I'm wondering if there are any others out there that have had similar experiences with convenience stores and how some of these issues have been addressed.