State sues Lily Lake gas station owner, operator over fuel leak

The Illinois attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against the owner and the operator of a Lily Lake gas station over a fuel leak earlier this month that contaminated nearby wetlands and caused a highway closure.

About 8,000 gallons of gas leaked April 6. Route 64 was closed between Route 47 and Hanson Road for more than a day while crews worked to address the leak and contain its spread.

The lawsuit - filed against LB Five, which owns the gas station and Oasis Lily Lake Inc., which operates it - seeks to require the companies to thoroughly investigate the cause of the leak and address the contamination, according to a news release Wednesday from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. The suit also seeks financial penalties.

"The resulting contamination poses a risk to public health, and even reached nearby wetlands, which can contain unique ecosystems and be very challenging to remediate," Raoul said.

The lawsuit was filed based on a referral by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the news release said.

According to the suit, the underground storage tanks hadn't been fully excavated while the gas station was working on a project to repair and replace the service lines. Trenches dug around the excavation area filled with storm water and forced three tanks to float to the surface. The tanks ruptured on impact with concrete slabbing, the lawsuit alleges.