Environmental Concerns - Friday, April 30, 2010 16:26 - 0 Comments

Update On Underground Storage Tank Litigation

We have written in prior issues about our work to protect the rights of people whose health and property have been damaged by harmful, toxic contaminants leaking from underground storage tanks (USTs).  You might wonder why we write about this subject so often. The answer is simple: leaking USTs have the potential to pose a very real and serious threat to any person and any property in Alabama.

Think about how many gas stations you see every day. Also, consider how many former gas stations you see that have been abandoned or are no longer in operation.  Then consider that each gas station, or former gas station, could have three or more USTs, each of which holds thousands of gallons of gasoline or other toxic petroleum-based fuels. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are more than 623,000 active USTs in the nation; more than 18,000 are located in Alabama.  Unless USTs are properly maintained, monitored and replaced periodically, they will develop a leak. In fact, the EPA has confirmed more than 479,000 releases of toxic petroleum contaminated nationwide; more than 11,000 of these releases occurred in Alabama.

Our firm has filed lawsuits on behalf of many clients from all over Alabama who have been adversely affected by leaking USTs. The effects suffered by our clients range from a single mother who discovered noxious gasoline fumes blowing through the ductwork and in the basement of her home, to a homeowner who discovered gasoline in his drinking water, to clients who were financially crippled when their real estate development was ruined by the discovery of gasoline constituents in the soil and groundwater, to a client whose ancestral land has been reduced to nothing more than a toxic waste dump by a release of more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline from a nearby gas station. We represent many other clients who suffer similar injuries as those described here.

We are continually investigating new UST leaks for our clients. Some of these investigative cases involve homeowners whose homes are located over a groundwater aquifer that is polluted with more than 18,000 gallons of gasoline, to an elderly homeowner who has lived adjacent to a gas station for more than 50 years and was not notified when the station’s USTs sustained a leak that has spread petroleum contaminants onto her property, to a group of impoverished residents who are being victimized by a UST owner who refuses to conduct an investigation and clean-up following notification that its UST has sustained a leak, to a property owner whose water supply was rendered non-potable by toxic gasoline constituents from a nearby leaking UST.

Leaking USTs are everyday occurrences that harm everyday people.  Our firm’s mission is to fight for the rights of ordinary folks who have been harmed by corporate polluters who place profits above the safety of their neighbors.  If you would like more information, believe that your health or property has been harmed by a leaking UST, or have questions, you can contact Chris Boutwell in our office at 800-898-2034 or by email at Chris.Boutwell@beasleyallen.com.