Settlement Reached Over Largest Gasoline Spill in Connecticut History

WASHINGTON — A settlement has been reached in a state action over a 2022 oil tanker accident that resulted in the largest gasoline spill in Connecticut history, state Attorney General William Tong announced Wednesday morning.

Under the terms of the settlement, which also covers two much smaller, earlier spills, Soundview Transportation will pay $350,000 in penalties and remediation costs.

In a written statement, Tong said Soundview’s November 2022 oil tanker accident in Norfolk, Connecticut, caused a “severe disruption” to the lives of people living in the area and “significant environmental harm.”

In addition to the penalties, Soundview is fully responsible for the ongoing remediation and clean-up of the site, the cost of which is extending into the millions of dollars. 

“Soundview has taken responsibility for the ongoing remediation, and the state continues to closely monitor that work,” he said.

“Today’s settlement, including a substantial penalty, sends a clear message that those who violate our environmental laws will be held accountable,” Tong added. 

The accident occurred in the early morning of Nov. 5, 2022. It was then that a tanker truck leased and operated by Soundview struck a utility pole and a fire hydrant on Route 44 in Norfolk.

The truck rolled over and slid several hundred feet down the road, emitting sparks and spilling gasoline through a breach in the tank.

The truck’s full cargo of 8,200 gallons of gasoline spilled out, contaminating the yards of nearby residences and traveling through the town’s stormwater sewer system into nearby surface and groundwaters. 

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Emergency Response Unit and the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department responded to the spill, ultimately with the assistance of 20 other mutual aid companies.

Faced with the likely threat of an explosion, the Norfolk First Selectman declared a local state of emergency. Eversource, the local utility, shut off power to the area, and Aquarion, the local water utility, was contacted to ensure adequate water pressure to supply any firefighting efforts. 

“The concentration of toxic and potentially explosive gasoline chemicals, including volatile organic compounds, led authorities to immediately evacuate all nearby residents and the nearby elementary school. Residents were not allowed to return to their homes until that evening, when the threat of an explosion had subsided,” a release from the attorney general’s office said. 

The initial response to the spill, and ongoing remediation efforts, required substantial removal of contaminated material. 

The ground within the two nearest properties was saturated by gasoline and had to be excavated to a depth of 9 feet, resulting in the removal of approximately 600 tons of contaminated soil. Vacuum trucks have since removed approximately 90 thousand gallons of contaminated water. 

Wednesday’s settlement requires Soundview to pay $350,000 to the state, including a $100,000 civil penalty, a $200,000 payment to compensate DEEP for costs associated with overseeing remediation, and a $50,000 payment to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Fund to support state enforcement actions on behalf of Connecticut consumers. 

The two smaller spills addressed by the settlement include one that occurred in Milford on March 16, 2023, and one that occurred at the Gateway Maritime terminal in Montville, Connecticut on Sept. 13, 2023. Both of those spills have been remediated. 

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and on X @DanMcCue