Cablegate: Concern Over Gas Station Pollution Unites Middle East

VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAMA #8577 3291308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZUI RUEWCSE0328 3291337
R 251308Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0000
INFO RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
ZEN/RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS AMMAN 008577

SIPDIS

ANKARA FOR FAS/GIFFORD

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV PREL TU XF
SUBJECT: CONCERN OVER GAS STATION POLLUTION UNITES MIDDLE EAST
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

1. (U) SUMMARY: TWENTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS FROM ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK
AND GAZA, AND JORDAN PUT REGIONAL TENSIONS ASIDE AT A WORKSHOP IN
ISTANBUL ON NOVEMBER 12-16 TO FOCUS ON A COMMON CONCERN -- POLLUTION
FROM LEAKING STORAGE TANKS AT GASOLINE STATIONS. TWO EPA
SPECIALISTS PRESENTED A MEATY, PRACTICAL PROGRAM THAT GENERATED
EXCELLENT DISCUSSION WITHIN AND BETWEEN DELEGATIONS. END SUMMARY.

--------------------------------------------
STATE FUNDS REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSHOPS
--------------------------------------------

2. (U) THIS TRAINING WORKSHOP WAS THE SIXTH IN A SERIES OF MIDDLE
EAST REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSHOPS SUPPORTED BY STATE AND
ORGANIZED BY USDA/FAS UNDER THE MULTILATERAL PEACE PROCESS WORKING
GROUP ON THE ENVIRONMENT. OTHER TOPICS FOR WHICH TRAINING HAS BEEN
OFFERED OVER RECENT YEARS INCLUDE HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT,
WASTEWATER TREATMENT, WASTEWATER REUSE, WATER IN AGRICULTURE,
BIOSOLIDS USE IN AGRICULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS. THE USG
ORGANIZES THE LOGISTICS, PAYS THE EXPENSES, AND FACILITATES THE
SUBSTANTIVE PROGRAM. EIGHT PERSONS EACH FROM ISRAEL, THE WEST
BANK/GAZA AND JORDAN WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE. TWO PALESTINIAN
PARTICIPANTS (ONE FROM GAZA, ONE FROM THE WEST BANK) WERE NOT ABLE
TO MAKE IT TO ISTANBUL FOR THE WORKSHOP, DESPITE STRENUOUS EFFORTS
FROM CONGEN JERUSALEM AND EMBASSY TEL AVIV.

---------------------------------------------
EPA SPECIALISTS PREPARED MUCH USEFUL MATERIAL
---------------------------------------------

3. (U) PARTICIPANTS NOTED WITH APPRECIATION THE BREADTH AND DEPTH
OF THE WORKSHOP ORGANIZED AND PRESENTED BY EPA UNDERGROUND STORAGE
TANK SPECIALISTS STEVE LINDER FROM REGION 9 (SAN FRANCISCO) AND JUDY
BARROWS (HEADQUARTERS). MATERIALS INCLUDED PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEO
SEGMENTS, A CLIP FROM A MAJOR TV NEWS SHOW, PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS,
TRAINING MANUALS, GOVERNMENT FORMS, STANDARDS, AND PROCEDURE
MANUALS. ALL MATERIALS WERE PUT ON A COMPUTER DISK AND A COPY WAS
GIVEN TO EACH PARTICIPANT.

--------------------------------------------- -----
COLLEGIAL ATMOSPHERE IN ROOM - STILL SOME TENSIONS
--------------------------------------------- -----

4. (SBU) SEVERAL PARTICIPANTS COMMENTED FAVORABLY ON THE WARM,
PROFESSIONAL ATMOSPHERE DURING THE WORKSHOP. THIS WAS A FUNCTION OF
THE TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
PRACTICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. IN SOME CASES, PEOPLES' INTEREST IN
THE SUBJECT OVERRODE THEIR RELUCTANCE TO INTERACT WITH THE
FACILITATORS AND WITH EACH OTHER. THERE WAS MUCH DISCUSSION WITHIN
AND BETWEEN DELEGATIONS.

5. (SBU) THERE WERE TIMES, THOUGH, WHEN THE POLITICAL REALITIES OF
THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT WERE UNAVOIDABLE. IN A ROUTINE
PRESENTATION ON USAGE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF FUELS, A PALESTINIAN
PARTICIPANT NOTED A SHARP DECREASE IN DEMAND FOR DIESEL FUEL DUE TO
THE FACT THAT A LARGE GENERATOR IN GAZA HAD BEEN BOMBED BY ISRAEL
AND WAS OFF-LINE.

6. (SBU) HANDPICKING THE PALESTINIAN DELEGATION FROM NGO'S,
BUSINESSES AND ACADEMICS WAS TIME-CONSUMING FOR CONGEN JERUSALEM AND
EMBASSY AMMAN ESTH HUB BUT ENABLED THE USG TO FIND INDIVIDUALS
COMMITTED TO POLITICAL COOPERATION AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION. TWO MEMBERS OF THE JORDANIAN DELEGATION WHO FULLY AND
RESPECTFULLY PARTICIPATED IN THE MEETING CHOSE NOT TO BE IN THE
GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OR TO ATTEND A GROUP DINNER ONE EVENING BECAUSE OF
THEIR FEELINGS TOWARD ISRAELI ACTIONS IN GAZA. THEIR ABSENCE WAS
NOT NOTICED, THOUGH, AND IN FACT THE INTERACTION DURING THE DINNER
WAS CASUAL AND FRIENDLY.

-------------------------------------------
THE VENUE: ISTANBUL WAS A BIG POSITIVE FACTOR
-------------------------------------------

7. (U) SELECTION OF ISTANBUL AS THE VENUE WAS AN INSPIRED CHOICE.
AS A MAJORITY MUSLIM COUNTRY NOTABLE FOR ITS MODERATE ATTITUDES,
TURKEY WAS A COMFORTABLE AND NEUTRAL LOCATION FOR PARTICIPANTS FROM
ALL RELIGIONS. ISTANBUL IS CLOSE TO THE MIDDLE EAST, MAKING TRAVEL
EASY AND INEXPENSIVE. VISAS WERE NOT DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN. EMBASSY
ANKARA AND CONSULATE ISTANBUL, PARTICULARLY FAS FSN IBRAHIM
SIRTIOGLU, PROVIDED A CONSISTENT, HIGH LEVEL OF SUPPORT THROUGHOUT
THE LONG PERIOD OF PREPARATION ON LOGISTICS AND FINDING TURKISH
ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALISTS.

--------------------------------------------- ------
THE TEAM: LOGISTICAL, SUBSTANTIVE, REGIONAL, LOCAL
--------------------------------------------- ------

8. (U) ONE OF THE STRENGTHS OF THE WORKSHOP WAS ITS DIVERSITY.
USDA/FAS MANAGED THE LOGISTICS, EPA DEVELOPED THE SUBSTANTIVE
PROGRAM, AND STATE PROVIDED REGIONAL EXPERTISE. EPA ALSO ELICITED
THE PARTICIPATION, AT HIS OWN EXPENSE, OF BOB RENKES FROM THE
TULSA-BASED PETROLEUM EQUIPMENT INSTITUTE, WHO BROUGHT YEARS OF
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH STORAGE TANKS, PIPELINES, GAUGES AND OTHER
EQUIPMENT. WITH THE HELP OF STATE COLLEAGUES IN ANKARA, WE
CONTACTED TURKISH ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST DR. CEM AVCI FROM
BOSPHORUS UNIVERSITY. DR. AVCI PRESENTED A SESSION ON TURKEY'S
EXPERIENCE IN MANAGING GASOLINE STORAGE TANKS, AND HE ORGANIZED A
HIGHLY USEFUL FIELD TRIP TO SEE THE EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES USED AT
A WORKING GAS STATION IN ISTANBUL. EACH OF THE DELEGATIONS HAD
PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPANTS WHO ADDED THEIR PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE TO
THE DISCUSSION. OTHER PARTICIPANTS CAME FROM GOVERNMENT, ACADEMIA
AND NGO'S. THIS DIVERSITY BROUGHT DEPTH AND INDIVIDUAL EMPOWERMENT
TO THE DISCUSSION.

--------------------------------
THE ISSUE: LEAKING STORAGE TANKS
--------------------------------

9. (U) THE SUBSTANCE OF THE WORKSHOP WAS FOCUSED ON PREVENTING,
DETECTING AND REMEDIATING LEAKS FROM UNDERGROUND GASOLINE STORAGE
TANKS AT PLACES SUCH AS GASOLINE STATIONS, MILITARY BASES, TAXI
COMPANIES, RENTAL CAR OUTLETS AND MUNICIPAL GARAGES. TANKS AND
PIPELINES BREAK AND CORRODE, LETTING THEIR CONTENTS SEEP INTO THE
SOIL AND SOMETIMES INTO GROUNDWATER. WHILE UP TO 50% OF SUCH TANKS
AND THEIR ASSOCIATED PARAPHERNALIA LEAK, EPA ESTIMATES THAT LESS
THAN 5% OF THE TANKS HAVE A SERIOUS LEAK. TELL THAT TO THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA, THOUGH. GASOLINE, ESPECIALLY THE ADDITIVE MTBE, FROM
ONE BADLY LEAKING TANK FOULED ITS ENTIRE CITY WATER SUPPLY. THE
TOTAL BILL IS NOW OVER $150 MILLION, AND THE METER IS STILL TICKING
MERRILY. DURING THE WORKSHOP, PEOPLE WERE SWEATING, AND GROANS
COULD BE HEARD AROUND THE TABLE AS THE SANTA MONICA CASE HISTORY WAS
PRESENTED. WITH JORDAN TRANSITIONING SOON AWAY FROM LEADED GASOLINE
AND TOWARDS MTBE-ENHANCED GASOLINE, THE LESSONS FROM SANTA MONICA
WERE HIGHLY RELEVANT.

10. (SBU) COMMENT: THIS WAS THE FIRST THAT SOME MEMBERS OF THE
JORDANIAN DELEGATION HAD EVER MET ISRAELIS. WE CONSIDER OUR DUAL
MISSION TO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL ON BOTH FRONTS: PROVIDING A FORUM
FOR ARABS AND ISRAELIS TO MEET AND WORK TOGETHER, AND HELPING TO
ADDRESS AN IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

HALE

© Scoop Media