May 31, 2012:

EDWARDSVILLE - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claims in a lawsuit that Shell Oil Co. and others have polluted and continue to pollute the area around Roxana's oil refinery. The suit filed Tuesday in Madison County Circuit Court asks the courts to declare the refiners liable for the cost of removing oil and other chemicals from the water after leaks and spills of petroleum over several years. The companies could be liable for at least $50,000 in penalties on each of two counts and $10,000 per day for each additional day the operators fail to comply. A third count demands certain cleanup efforts.

The attorney general joins a list of attorneys who have filed lawsuits in connection with operations at the refinery, formerly owned by Shell Oil Co. The personal injury suits concern alleged benzene contamination, which the plaintiffs claim has caused cancer in people who lived or worked near the plant. A pending class action lawsuit seeks to force the defendants to pay for the cost of removing contaminants from the area's groundwater. As in the personal injury and class action cases, the attorney general's case claims that pollutants are floating on the water table beneath Roxana and have migrated beyond the boundaries of the plant.

Madigan's suit claims some of the pumps used in the plant's operation are making the pollution worse. "These companies must be held accountable for the environmental and public health damage caused by this contamination," Madigan said. "This lawsuit seeks a complete assessment and a plan to restore the quality of the groundwater and subsurface to pre-contamination conditions and to protect the people living in Roxana." Along with the $50,000 penalty on each of two counts, the suit also seeks to recover the costs incurred by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in the investigation and cleanup.

Shell and current operators ConocoPhillips are two of the defendants named in Madigan's suit. ConocoPhillips is operating the plant on behalf of WRB Refining, the suit states. WRB Refining spokeswoman Melissa Erker said her company maintains that it always has acted responsibly in operations of the refinery and believes, as it has said before, that it is named in the legal action only because of its historical connection with the Shell property. "We believe the current refinery ownership is named in the lawsuit because of the direct (successor) relationship with Shell, which is responsible for the historic aspects and for maintaining the remediation and corrective action plan now in place," Erker said.

The remediation action began last year on the refinery property and in surrounding neighborhoods. A Shell spokeswoman said officials at her firm are aware of the suit but are limiting their comments for now. "We are aware that the state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against Shell and other parties regarding alleged violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act associated with the Wood River Refinery, near Roxana, Illinois. Shell will review the suit and respond in due course," spokeswoman Kayla Macke said. She said Shell was declining comment about the merits of the suit. "However, Shell has been working cooperatively with the Illinois EPA, Illinois Department of Public Health and the village of Roxana to conduct environmental assessments and address historic subsurface impacts," Macke said.

"We are seeking to complete the work quickly, thoroughly and with minimal disruption to homeowners. For example, we recently installed a substantial soil vapor extraction system along the east side of Roxana and near the Village Public Works Yard that draws in and eliminates soil vapors. "Our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of the Roxana community," she said. "Shell remains committed to carrying out its work under the direction of state regulatory agencies, including the IEPA, and will continue to maintain open communications with regulatory agencies and homeowners." The suit claims that over time, including a 1986 benzene release, the refiners have caused or allowed pollutants, including oil and chemicals, to enter the groundwater.

Listed among the chemicals is benzene, a known carcinogen. That chemical allegedly is responsible for the cases of cancer that the personal injury plaintiffs claim. The suit filed by Madigan lists the upper limits for the allowed amount of benzene and other chemicals and alleges the refiners violated state statute by exceeding those limits. The suit claims that activities of the refiners, including the choice of wells used for pumping groundwater for production uses, have caused or allowed further migration of contaminants.

Among the remedies sought, in addition to damages and costs, is to direct the groundwater flow back toward the interior of the facility. The suit asks the court to force the refiners to treat the groundwater withdrawn from the aquifer and to remove the hydrocarbons.

By The Telegraph