Sauget ethanol company sues over leaking, corroding tanks

Leaking and corroding tanks caused an ethanol company to file a lawsuit against their manufacturer.

Center Ethanol Company filed a lawsuit May 13 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Cady Aquastore.

In its complaint, Center Ethanol Company claims it hired MCI/TEI to design and engineer its ethanol plant in Sauget, on Sept. 27, 2006. In turn, MCI/TEI entered into a subcontract with Cady. Cady agreed to provide carbon steel coated and bolted tanks for the plant, according to the complaint.

Since the installation of the tanks, however, Center Ethanol has experienced failure of the glass lining on the tanks and with the bolts, the suit states.

These failures, incompatabilities and other problems have caused, and continue to cause, numerous leaks, rust, corrosion, metal loss to the tanks, damage to tank insulation and lining, and product contamination and loss, among other adverse results, interrupting business on a day-to-day basis, creating significant safety and operational hazards and resulting in substantial expenses to remedy the same, the complaint says.

Center Ethanol says Cady has refused to comply with requests to either replace or repair the tanks. In turn, Center Ethanol has lost more than $50,000, according to the complaint.

Center Ethanol is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, plus the costs of repair or replacement of the tanks, interest, costs, attorney’s fees and other relief the court deems just. It is being represented in the case by Joseph A. Bartholomew and Stephanie A. Brauer of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer and Shevlin in Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 14-L-329.