The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency referred an enforcement action to the state attorney generals office against Olympic Oil Ltd. for causing an on-going release of petroleum products mixed with stormwater.
On Aug. 22, Illinois EPA responded to a report of petroleum products being released from the Olympic facility in Cicero, Ill. An unknown amount of petroleum products from an unknown source at Olympics facility had migrated outside of an onsite containment structure and into the adjacent Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the state agency said in an Aug. 26 news release. Petroleum containment booms were deployed in the canal, and a contractor has been retained to remediate the release.
The agency is seeking an order requiring the company to immediately take action to prevent oil and chemicals from being released into the environment, fully remediate contaminated soil and potentially impacted groundwater, and conduct an evaluation to determine the extent of contamination.
Olympic Oil Ltd. is the operator of the facility, operating under the name Delta Cos. Group in Cook County, Ill. The agency said the facility blends and packages petroleum lubricating oil and antifreeze products.
Lube Report could not reach Delaware, Ohio-based Delta Cos. Group or parent company Greif Inc. for comment by deadline.
The agency said that to date, 1,650 gallons of petroleum product had been collected and removed from the facilitys containment area. An interceptor trench was excavated to further contain product, which is being pumped off each hour. In addition to the Illinois EPA response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was on site to oversee cleanup work.
In the referral, the Illinois EPA cited several violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations, including causing or allowing the discharge of petroleum products from the facility into waters of the state, depositing contaminants to create a water pollution hazard and causing or allowing the discharge of contaminated storm water into the states waters.