Photo by Eugene Driscoll
The gas station at 190 Seymour Ave. in Derby.
DERBY — A judge ordered the owner of a vacant gas station on Seymour Avenue to properly close underground gasoline storage tanks that are past their life span, in addition to testing the soil and groundwater to see if the old tanks have contaminated the property.
Judge Matthew Budzik also ordered the owner, John Borrelli, to hire an environmental consultant to make sure the work is done in accordance with state environmental law.
Budzik spared Borrelli and his limited liability company a civil fine of $352,062.50.
The judge’s decision was dated July 12.
The decision came after the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection filed a lawsuit last year against Borrelli and his company to address environmental threats at the old gas station.
Borrelli owned a gas station at 190 Seymour Ave., at the corner of Seymour and Hawkins Street. The gas station went out of business in 2010, not long after he purchased it.
Gas station underground storage tanks are heavily regulated. However, no one has checked on the tanks at Borrelli’s former property in years.
They were installed in February 1990 and are now officially past their life expectancy of 30 years. There is no definitive answer as to whether the tanks are leaking.
At a court hearing June 23 in front of Judge Matthew Budzik, DEEP officials said they started issuing violation notices to Borelli back in 2008 before filing a lawsuit last year. Violations were also issued in 2014 and 2017, along with follow-up letters.
A DEEP representative testified that the tanks pose a threat to the drinking supply, especially to anyone in the area with well water.
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The 24-part order adopts language a DEEP lawyer submitted to the court. It gives Borelli 10 days to find a “qualified consultant,” and 30 days to empty all petroleum or any other hazardous substances from the tanks, along with a litany of other requirements.
