SHOREWOOD, Wis. -- CITGO gas station owner Syed Rizvi has until October 24 to hire an environmental consultant and come up with a plan to clean up his Shorewood, Wis., station's leak, reported WTMJ-AM. State Department of Natural Resources officials pegged the station as the source of a gasoline leak in Shorewood's sanitary sewer system; samples lead them to the station, said the Shorewood Patch.
After he hires a consultant, Rizvi has to submit a new work plan by November 14 to the state Department of Natural Resources. Rizvi also must notify the DNR if any new environmental problems arise at the site. Additionally he needs to make an arrangement for the proper disposal of gasoline and water barrels stored on the site, the radio station said.
Safia Rizvi, his wife, told FOX6 News, the Shorewood Patch's media partner, that the couple plans to comply with the DNR's requests. "We will do whatever the DNR asks," she said. "But we don't have leaky tanks. We don't know what the problem is."
The site's convenience store is still open, but the gasoline pumps have been closed since October 5, the report said.
Syed Rizvi had said he hasn't lost any fuel from his station and shouldn't be held responsible for the gasoline leak that has had fire officials scrambling for answers for nearly a week.
"There is no gas, no gas smell. So gas is not coming out of this store. They are wrong," Syed had told FOX6.
Safia Rizvi said the owners are ready to put the episode behind them as they are losing thousands of dollars in gasoline sales each day.
North Shore Fire Department chief Robert Whitaker, citing DNR records, said the station has a history of fuel contamination problems dating back to 1994.
Safia Rizvi said, however, there was no problem in 1994 and that the station has never had a fuel spill. The DNR didn't deem the contamination to be to levels warranting remediation, Whitaker said.
Whitaker said laboratory results from soil samples taken last week prove a fuel contamination in the parkway in front of CITGO happened as recent as a week ago, the report added.
See Related Content for previous CSP Daily Newscoverage.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.