According to the Attorney General, the gas station owners removed seven underground storage tanks from the property in December 1988. The state conducted an inspection at the time and found that petroleum had been released into the surrounding land and water. Whether the leak had occurred during the tank removal or before it was unclear, but the company failed to take the necessary corrective actions and filed deficient reports to the state.

Because the company failed to clean the contaminated site, it could have compromised the health and safety of the residents in this small north central Ohio community.

“For two decades the defendants in this case have refused to fully investigate and correct the problems on this site caused by the release of petroleum,” Cordray said. “This agreement takes the much-needed step forward toward resolving the environmental problems and protecting the health of nearby residents.”

Englefield Oil Co., the parent company of the Waldo Duchess station, refused full responsibility in the matter. “The principle activities resulting in the lawsuit occurred more than a decade ago and relate to the allegedly late or deficient submission of reports by our consultants,” Englefield spokesman Terry Swartz told the Convenience Store / Petroleum News.

“This property was acquired with the environmental issues unknown at the time of the purchase. Englefield Oil and its consultant do not believe the site at issue has caused any off-site environmental concern,” Swarz said.

Englefield Oil operates more than 150 locations containing underground storage tanks. Swarz said that the company “has always taken its environmental responsibility seriously and regrets that this action has occurred.”

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Ohio company penalized for 20-year-old gas leak

The November incident occurred when oil waste from a Childers Oil facility permeated the Kentucky River just one mile upstream from the city’s water plant. Then, in February, massive amounts of diesel fuel were released from numerous storage tanks belonging to Childers. The diesel leak exposed area residents to contaminated water for a 10-day period, during which time the city could only warn them not to cook, drink, or bathe in the water.

The state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet filed a lawsuit against Childers Oil and a related company, Mountain Rail Properties. Both companies are owned by the same family. The attorneys have also asked the Franklin, Kentucky, Circuit Judge to issue an injunction that would bar Childers Oil from allowing any future petroleum leaks. A violation of the injunction would lead to the company being held in contempt of court.

“It is the personal right of the citizens of Letcher County to live in a safe environment and to have clean drinking water,” state attorneys were quoted as saying in the CSNews Online report.

Many area residents remain suspicious of the oil company after its record of environmental violations was released. According to Lexington Herald-Leader, the company’s violations include “improperly burning debris; improperly dumping construction waste, including construction debris; leaking or improperly registered and upgraded underground fuel storage tanks; sewage station overflow; and not filing correct monitoring reports.”

According to CSNews Online, an employee of Childers told a state inspector in one of the earlier cases that the company owner, Don Childers, instructed him to burn various waste materials with ‘used motor oil from the shop’ behind the Wal-Mart in Whitesburg. Childers told the employee not to make a big fire, and that he would run over the site with a bulldozer later.

The company’s owners, however, say that they are cooperating with the state and that litigation isn’t necessary. They also say they love their city and are proud to serve it.

Ironically, Childers Oil is sponsoring an event called “River Sweep 2009,” an environmental event held by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission to clean up area riverbanks.

SOURCE: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks › Kentucky oil company repeatedly damages environment, sued by state