Tanking it

Anthony Brown
Tanking it

Andrea Smith, an environmental specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, takes a water sample Thursday morning beside a partially excavated underground gasoline tank at the currently vacant Finish Line convenience store at Seventh and Main streets in Maryville.

The tank was being removed by Hamilton Service Co. of Kansas City. According to Maryville City Clerk Sheila Smail, the service station is in the process of being sold by Kansas City businessman Syed Raza Naqui. The proposed buyers are Mohammad Ishfaq and Ejaz Ahmed, also of Kansas City.

Smail said attorney Richard Bryant is acting as managing officer for the buyers, a legal requirement since Ishfaq and Ahmed are not U.S. citizens.

The sale has been pending for several months, Smail said, as the current owner seeks to comply with environmental regulations related to the tank’s removal.