EAST ST. LOUIS – Petroff Trucking Company pollutes the Mississippi River through Cahokia Canal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged in U.S. district court on Sept. 14.
Assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark sought an injunction and an order for removal of dredged spoil, rock, and sand.
He seeks civil penalties under the Clean Water Act up to $55,800 for each day of each violation in the last five years and $25,000 before that.
He also seeks an order requiring answers to information requests that the EPA sent to Petroff last year and the year before.
The complaint describes a series of failures in communication with Petroff and its attorney.
A cover sheet identifies Thomas Maag of Wood River as Petroff's attorney.
According to Clark’s complaint, Petroff’s site comprises 22.6 acres at 650 Madison Road in East St. Louis.
Prior to Petroff’s discharges, Clark wrote, the site contained about 15.5 acres of freshwater wetlands.
The wetlands connect to the canal by two culverts through a berm.
The wetlands provide purification of runoff prior to discharge into the canal, retention of floodwater, export of nutrients downstream, and habitat.
Clark wrote that Petroff cleared, stumped, graded, and dredged the wetlands.
He wrote that in March 2018, the EPA issued an information request to Petroff.
The EPA extended the response deadline, and received a partial response with a request for another extension, according to Clark.
He wrote that he sent the request to Petroff’s attorney in July 2018, and the attorney did not respond.
He wrote that he sent Petroff and its attorney two more requests for a response.
He wrote that the attorney indicated he would send some information in November 2018, but he never sent it.
He wrote that EPA issued a second information request last September.
“To date, neither defendant nor defendant’s attorney have responded to EPA’s requests for information,” Clark wrote.