EAST ST. LOUIS – Petroff Trucking and the U.S. settled a claim that Petroff destroyed wetlands along Cahokia Canal, according to a joint report they sent to District Judge David Dugan on July 27.
Earlier this year assistant Attorney General Benjamin Grillot of Washington, D.C. moved for summary judgment assessing a $581,821 penalty.
Petroff bought 23 acres on Madison Road in East St. Louis in 2016, to carry out a contract for covering a nearby landfill.
Grillot sued in 2020, claiming Petroff cleared, graded, and dredged wetlands in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Petroff counsel Thomas Maag of Wood River moved to dismiss the suit, claiming the canal wasn’t subject to the Act.
He described it as a drainage ditch that doesn’t drain into the Mississippi River.
Dugan denied the motion last year.
Grillot’s motion for judgment claimed Petroff might have saved $750,000 on the cost of hauling by using soil from the wetland.
He claimed it destroyed one of the last remnants of the American Bottom wetland.
Petroff counsel Thomas Maag of Wood River moved to stay the proceedings, stating he expected to resolve the case shortly.
He and Grillot moved to extend the stay on July 27, “to preserve resources.”
They stated their agreement was subject to approval by Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department.