Leaking storage tanks to be removed at shuttered Arlington Heights gas station

The owner of a shuttered Arlington Heights gas station plans to remove three underground storage tanks, according to a permit application filed this week with the state, after the Illinois fire marshal's office went to court to seek their removal.

The fire marshal's office issued the permit Monday for removal of the three condemned tanks and related piping at the former Citgo station, 1315 E. Palatine Road. The tanks - one measuring 12,000 gallons and two measuring 10,000 gallons each - have been out of commission since Jan. 31, 2020, when the station closed.

A report by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency last week confirmed the tanks are leaking.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul brought the complaint on behalf of the fire marshal's office April 15, saying that owner Kottayam Corp. failed to comply with an administrative order requiring the tanks to be removed, as well as an earlier notice directing that the unused tanks at least be emptied to an inch or less.

A Dec. 9, 2021, inspection found one tank still had a mixture of premium gasoline and water measuring 5.25 inches and one tank had a 1.25-inch gas and water mixture. The third tank had a half-inch gas and water mixture, according to the complaint.

Since the owner didn't submit a written request for temporary closure status - which could have lasted for five years - tanks that are more than 30 years old and have been out of service for more than a year require removal, per the fire marshal's regulations.

The single-wall tanks are 33 years old, according to state records.

The attorney general's court action asks a Cook County judge to order the removal of the tanks and impose fines of $1,000 to $25,000 per day. A hearing on the complaint was scheduled for Aug. 15.

But after the owner applied for the removal permit this week, the fire marshal gave the owner's excavation contractor, Chicago-based RW Collins Co., until Oct. 25 to remove the tanks.

The property owner didn't respond to a request for comment.

Though the gas station is out of service, an auto repair shop is still in business there. The corner site neighbors Lakewood Chapel on Palatine Road and a single-family home on Windsor Drive.