Illinois EPA Refers Olympic Oil Ltd. to Attorney General for Enforcement

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Bonnett has referred an enforcement action to the Illinois Attorney General’s office against Olympic Oil Ltd. for causing an on-going release of an unknown amount of petroleum products mixed with stormwater, which has migrated in the adjacent Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Agency is seeking an order requiring the company to immediately take action to prevent oil/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 Companies Group in Cook County. The facility is located at 5000 West 41st Street, Cicero, and blends and packages petroleum lubricating oil and antifreeze products.

On August 22, 2014, Illinois EPA responded to a report of petroleum products being released from the Olympic facility. An unknown amount of petroleum products from an unknown source at Olympic’s facility had migrated outside of an onsite containment structure and into the adjacent Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Petroleum containment booms were deployed in the canal, and a contractor has been retained to remediate the release.

To date, 1,650 gallons of petroleum product has been collected and removed from the facility’s containment area. An interceptor trench has been 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 has been onsite to oversee the cleanup work.

In the referral, the Agency 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 upon the land in such a place and manner as to create a water pollution hazard and causing or allowing the discharge of contaminated stormwater into the waters of the state. Illinois EPA asks the Attorney General to obtain immediate injunctive relief as well as compliance measures to be taken by Olympic Oil Ltd. to remedy the situation. Agency representatives will continue to monitor the situation.