Barrington gas station penalized for gasoline leak

A Barrington gas station has been penalized $20,000 for a gasoline leak earlier this year that seeped into nearby soil, groundwater and village sewers, the attorney general's office said Monday.

The suit, filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office against Shri Balaji Inc., owner of the Mobil station at 504 E. Main St., stemmed from a leak discovered Jan. 25 after nearby residents complained of gasoline odors in their homes.

In addition to the civil penalty, the settlement requires Balaji to evaluate the extent of the damages and conduct regular sampling and monitoring of the soil and groundwater to report results to the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to officials, the leak started on the station's leak detection system as many as five to six weeks before its discovery. Although it is not yet known how much gasoline leaked, Greg Summers, director of development services for Barrington, said cleanup crews vacuumed about 12,500 gallons of a fuel and groundwater mixture in the first two days after it was discovered.

Officials say the leak did not threaten the village's water supply.

Madigan's lawsuit originally sought a penalty of $50,000 for each violation and $10,000 for each day of violation. The suit followed a statement in January by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which said Shri Balaji Inc. will be on the hook for the costs of cleaning the spill and all future remediation.

"This order will protect the community by ensuring that the company will identify and remediate any remaining contamination," Madigan said in a statement.