Maryland sues Exxon over gas spill at station

By Brian Cole

Published on May 01, 2006

In January, Maryland environmental officials said tens of thousands of gallons of fuel leaked from a station in the town of Jacksonville in Baltimore County. The Maryland Department of the Environment's suit alleges more than 25,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline spilled from a pipe over a 37 day period. MDE is seeking up to $25,000 for each day the gasoline flowed from the station. The Exxon station is also being cited for failing to report the discharge to MDE and a failure to maintain leak detection equipment.

More than 10,000 gallons of gasoline and around 2 million gallons of contaminated water have already been collected by a crew that is expected to work on this cleanup for several years.

The state is also seeking reimbursement for the costs of the cleanup effort.

An Exxon-Mobile public affairs advisor said the main focus of the company is their recovery and mediation activities at the station.

Maryland has proposed emergency regulations to address the effects on the groundwater supply and the implementation of leak detection systems at gas stations.

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