CHICAGO -- An Illinois gas-station owner faces a $20,000 civil penalty for a leaking underground storage tank (UST).
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a settlement this week with Shri Balaji Inc., the owner and operator of a Mobil-branded gas station in Barrington, Ill., for the gasoline leak dating back to January. At the time of the leak, nearby residents were complaining about gasoline odors in their homes.
An inspector with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the reports and traced the source back to the Barrington gas station.
Madigan filed a suit against Shri Balaji in February that alleged the UST had been leaking “unknown quantities” of gasoline since at least Jan. 25, 2016. The suit alleged that, in that time, fuel had leaked into surrounding soil, groundwater and the nearby sanitary sewer system.
This week, the attorney general entered a consent order in Lake County Circuit Court that requires Shri Balaji to pay a $20,000 civil penalty for violating state environmental laws, to determine how much gasoline contaminated the soil and groundwater and submit a proposed remediation plan to the Illinois EPA.
In addition, Shri Balaji will have to sample and monitor the soil and groundwater and report the results to the EPA.
“This order will protect the community by ensuring that the company will identify and remediate any remaining contamination,” Madigan said.
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