MPCA sues Elgin Cenex owner for large petroleum leak that contaminated city water supply
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is suing the owner of a southeastern Minnesota gas station it says is responsible for a large petroleum leak.
The MPCA says that the local Cenex station in Elgin had two fuel pipes leaking more than three gallons of gasoline per hour, contaminating the city's drinking water.
On Thursday, the MPCA announced it is taking legal action against the station's owner-operator, Gurek Inc, alleging it knowingly bypassed safety equipment that would have prevented a leak for over a month.
The leak, which was discovered by the MPCA in March 2022, spilled up to 10,000 gallons of gasoline, which entered the city's underground storm sewer and discharged into a nearby creek.
The MPCA says it is still cleaning up the leak over a year later. So far, the agency had to remove over 3,000 tons of soil and has recovered over 4,500 gallons of gas at the site of the leak.
A large concentration of gasoline within the city's groundwater, known as a gasoline plume, remains unstable and the public's health and safety is an ongoing concern, the MPCA says.
Some of Elgin's water lines near the leak require repair, which is scheduled for later this year.