Environmental concerns stall work at former Elgin gas station
Stalled work at a former gas station in Elgin has prompted residents to call the city with safety concerns, but officials said there is nothing they can do about it.
The property at 901 Dundee Ave. has an empty dirt pit after the property owner removed underground tanks from a former gas station. The owner abandoned the project after he learned the tanks were leaking and he was required to do environmental remediation work, city officials said.
Nearby residents Dennis and Laurie Roxworthy say the property is an unsafe eyesore.
"It would be one thing if they leveled the ground," Dennis said. "What happens if a kid walks along and trips and falls into that thing? Or anybody?"
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the attorney general's office instructed the city not to do any work on the property because of concerns related to the leakage, Neighborhood Services Director Colby Basham said. The city also spoke with the state fire marshal, Basham said.
"One of our thoughts was, 'We're just going to fill it in to make it not dangerous,'" Basham said. "We were told, 'Don't touch it.'"
The city has installed concrete barriers on its right of way to stop cars that might stray off the road. It had placed yellow hazard tape around the pit before being told not to do any work on the property, Basham said.
The property owner, Vikrant Sahni of St. Charles, did not return a request for comment Thursday.
Sahni did the excavation in May but stopped the work after he found out about the leaking, Basham said.
"They had to do site remediation, and they decided they did not want to do it," he said. "They abandoned their site. We've been on them for months, trying to get a hold of them, trying to work with them, trying to come up with some solution."
The IEPA issued the owner a violation notice in August, requesting a written response and a meeting within 45 days, IEPA communications manager Patti Thompson said.
"The owner has not submitted the required reports and hasn't conducted necessary corrective actions. Before the hole can be backfilled, additional samples must be taken," Thompson said. "Due to inaction by on the part of the owner, IEPA has referred this matter to the Illinois Attorney General's office."
The attorney general had a pending lawsuit filed in Kane County against Sahni in December 2015, after Sahni failed to remove the underground tanks as requested by the state fire marshal, according to documents provided by attorney general spokeswoman Katie Thompson. A default order was entered in January and the case is due in court Friday, she said.
City records show at least seven calls from residents about the site since May, but there are more entered without a precise address, Basham said. Council members also have inquired about it, he said.
There are sidewalks along Slade and Dundee avenues bordering the property.
"If you literally tripped in it in the middle of the night, I suppose there might be a potential of damage," Basham said.
"It's not like we don't want to do anything. We can't," he said. "I assume somebody is going to contact us at some point in time. "