Ill. EPA says railroad should clean up ethanol pollution

State environmental officials said Friday they have asked Attorney General Lisa Madigan to force a railroad company to clean up contamination from a freight train derailment and explosion last week in northern Illinois.

The state Environmental Protection Agency claims up to 75,000 gallons of ethanol leaked into the ground and a nearby creek after the train derailed in Rockford on June 19, setting off a fiery explosion and killing one person. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The EPA wants Canadian National Railroad to test the soil and water for contamination and clean up any that is found. It also wants the railroad to supply residents with safe drinking water if wells are polluted.

"We are asking them to accept responsibility for any contamination," agency spokeswoman Maggie Carson said.

Tom Hook, the lead investigator at the crash site, said Canadian National already has dug 1 to 2 feet deep in the ground and removed 755 tons of contaminated soil.

Spokesman Patrick Waldron said the railroad was working with federal and state environmental officials and voluntarily had begun "conducting extensive testing and remediation measures."

Environmental officials suspect the spill killed fish in nearby rivers. If confirmed, they want the railroad to restock the waterways.

Tests of the surface water have tested negative for ethanol. However, the samples were drawn two days after the crash, so officials can't rule out ethanol as the cause of the fish kill, said Mick Hans, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency couldn't begin its investigation until after the fire had died out.

Madigan's office received the request from the state EPA on Thursday and intends to make a decision soon, spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said.

If the request is denied, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Climate Partnership Association can intervene, Carson said.