AG sues Clinton trucking firm over diesel leak

Posted on August 13, 2018
The attorney general’s office says H & M Trucking has hired an environmental consultant to oversee the emergency cleanup. (Google Maps)

 

By Greg Halbleib

CLINTON – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing a DeWitt County trucking firm in connection with a late June diesel fuel leak.

The attorney general’s office announced the lawsuit Monday against H & M Trucking Company, which is just west of Clinton along Route 54. The company specializes in transporting food products.

The lawsuit filed in DeWitt County court alleges about 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel began leaking from a storage tank on the property about June 30. The attorney general’s office said the leak contaminated soil and a nearby creek, then spread to a residential pond about a half mile south, covering the entire pond and killing vegetation in a two-foot perimeter around the pond. The residential property owner contacted state authorities, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency observed the damage on July 23.

The lawsuit also seeks a preliminary injunction requiring H & M Trucking to clean up the contaminated areas and prepare a report on the cause and extent of the diesel leak. The office says H & M has hired an environmental consultant to oversee the emergency cleanup.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].

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