Attorney General sues western Kane County gas station owner, operator over April 6 gas spill

LILY LAKE – Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced April 27 a lawsuit against the owner and operator of a gasoline service station at the intersection of Routes 64 and 47 in Lily Lake over a gasoline spill that resulted in a highway closure and contaminated a nearby wetland, according to a news release.

Raoul’s office filed the lawsuit in Kane County Circuit Court against LB Five, LLC, Series E and Oasis Lily Lake, Inc. regarding a gasoline spill that was reported April 6. The spill took place at a gas station owned by LB Five and operated by Oasis, which is located on Illinois Route 64.

The 25-page lawsuit seeks a $50,000 civil penalty for each of seven violations of the Environmental Protection Act and $10,000 a day of violation since April 6.

“The defendants’ project to repair and replace service lines for underground storage tanks instead resulted in the release of thousands of gallons of gasoline. The resulting contamination poses a risk to public health, and even reached nearby wetlands, which can contain unique ecosystems and be very challenging to remediate,” Raoul said in the release. “This lawsuit will ensure that the defendants thoroughly evaluate the release’s impact on the environment and develop a plan to address any and all contamination.”

The lawsuit also seeks an immediate and preliminary injunction that requires the defendants to investigate and eliminate the cause of gasoline contamination at the site; to remediate the impact; and at the direction of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to conduct testing to determine the nature and scope of contamination on and off the site, according to the release.

The lawsuit also seeks to require the defendants to take steps to thoroughly remediate the site and prevent future gasoline releases, as well as seeks civil penalties provided by the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, according to the release.

Raoul’s lawsuit alleges that the release of about 8,000 gallons of gasoline contaminated soil and groundwater and also reached a nearby wetland.

The lawsuit seeks to require the companies to thoroughly investigate the cause of the release and to thoroughly remediate contamination, according to the release.

Joseph Lazar is president of Oasis Lily Lake Inc., which operates the gas station, and the registered agent for LB Five, LLC, Series E. Lazar said he has no idea why the Illinois Attorney General would be suing his companies.

“I do not know why they are suing us,” Lazar, of Hampshire, said. “Why would they want to sue me? I was improving it. It was Mother Nature and the rain that caused the problem.”

Lazar said he bought the land in July and was in the process of improving it by updating the tanks and pumps.

“The day they were supposed to be inspected at 2 p.m. by the state fire marshal and the problem happened at 3 a.m. All the rain came from the north and filled the hole and caused the damage – that we cleaned up right away. It’s pretty much cleaned up,” Lazar said. “It has been cleaned and addressed to this point.”

Lazar’s attorney Ted Meyers of Meyers and Flowers in St. Charles said the owner took responsibility and the site is cleaned up.

“They’ve already been doing all the tests. All the contaminated stuff has been removed,” Meyers said. “All the tests are showing no contamination. Now they’re just restoring wetlands to their natural state because of all the disruption – moving soil around to get rid of this stuff. Now it’s just making sure we have it back the way it needs to be. All the IEPA people on the call with the attorney general were praising that this was a fantastic example of how remediation should go. The owner has been active and hired a top notch environmental consultant who has taken all measures recommended by the IEPA.”

The IEPA agreed that what needs to be done is to restore the wetland, Meyers said.

“The final stage of these cases is the ability to do fines. When you have a situation like this, it makes no sense. There is no neglect,” Meyers said. “The complaint is quite surprising, asking a court to order my client to do what he has already voluntarily done.”

‘Widespread contamination’

Raoul’s lawsuit is based on a referral by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, according to the release.

“The actions of the station owner and operator resulted in widespread contamination to area property, including a large wetland, and full extent of area contamination is not yet fully known,” Illinois EPA Director John Kim said in the release. “This lawsuit is necessary to ensure the defendants take immediate action to determine the full extent of contamination and completes appropriate remediation and restoration to remove and address environmental impacts while protecting area residents.”

The gas station, which is owned by LB Five, included an on-site underground gasoline storage tank and distribution system that consisted of seven underground gasoline storage tanks along with other equipment used to dispense gasoline.

The site is operated by Oasis Lily Lake Inc., and at the time of the release, the storage tanks’ service lines were being repaired and replaced. Three tanks leaked, each which had a storage capacity of about 10,000 gallons, according to the release.

Raoul’s lawsuit alleges that when the April 6 gasoline release was discovered, the underground storage tanks had not been fully excavated.

Trenches that had been dug around the excavation area filled with stormwater, forcing three tanks to float to the surface. The tanks ruptured upon impact with concrete slabbing, releasing about 8,000 gallons of gasoline.

According to the lawsuit, the trenches – once filled with a mixture of gasoline and water – overflowed into a ditch at the site. From there, the mixture flowed through a culvert running under Route 64 into the wetlands located directly across from the site.

Gasoline fumes

Members of the Elburn and Countryside Fire Protection District responded to a report of strong gasoline fumes and observed the sheen of gasoline and rainwater flowing from the site into the culvert. Out of an abundance of caution, officials closed a section of Route 64 and shut off electricity to the site, according to the release.

The lawsuit alleges that in addition to the ditch south of the site and the culvert under Route 64, about five acres of wetlands, a tributary to Ferson Creek, were contaminated. Raoul alleges that to date the defendants have not thoroughly investigated or mitigated, according to the release.

Gasoline is harmful to humans if ingested or absorbed through the skin. Breathing in even small amounts of gasoline vapors can result in nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea and difficulty breathing. Exposure to large amounts of gasoline vapors can lead to a coma or death, according to the release.

Gasoline vapors are explosive and can create a fire hazard. If dumped or spilled in waterways, gasoline is toxic to aquatic organisms and may cause long-term damage to aquatic ecosystems, according to the release.

Court records show a case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 11.