Probe continues into gasoline leak at Westmont Speedway
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is asking the state attorney general's office to order Speedway LLC to investigate the cause of a petroleum gas leak at its station on South Cass Avenue in Westmont, control any additional gasoline at the site and continue air monitoring along a nearby sewer line.
The request comes days after a leak at the station allowed gasoline to flow into a sewer line, triggering several fires and explosions in neighboring Willowbrook that injured one person and damaged at least three homes and a condominium complex.
Speedway officials told the EPA they became aware of the leak on Oct. 16 and began pumping gasoline out of their tanks at the station on Oct. 19. The station has since been isolated from the sanitary sewer and shut down, the EPA said.
Willowbrook residents, meanwhile, can file reimbursement claims with Speedway for out-of-pocket costs associated with the explosions and fires, a company spokesman said Monday.
Investigators believe fuel leaked from the station into the Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District sanitary sewer system and local storm sewers. The leak triggered an explosion in the laundry facility of a condo building in the Knolls of Willowbrook complex almost two miles away, sending one woman to the hospital.
Speedway is a subsidiary of Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Corp.
"Speedway's investigation into the cause of the leak is ongoing," Marathon spokesman Chuck Rice said in an emailed statement. "We are undertaking a complex examination of all assets and equipment at the location."
The blast displaced residents in 32 condo units. A Speedway representative is stationed at the complex to assist residents seeking reimbursement for costs such as hotel stays, food that may have spoiled after utilities were shut off and other out-of-pocket expenses, Rice said.
Speedway also has established a claims center at the Willowbrook Square, 38 W. 63rd St., across from the Whole Foods store.
"Currently, Speedway has more than 100 responders in the area, many of whom are going door-to-door to see how Speedway can help affected residents," Rice said.
The majority of the product has been removed from the sewer system, but there are small amounts of residual product that remain, village of Westmont spokesman Larry McIntyre said in an email late Monday. Speedway, contractor and fire department crews have been working to eliminate the residual product.
Westmont issued a statement Saturday saying no dangerous or explosive levels of gasoline have been found since the mitigation process began.