State Upholds $600,000 Fine for Local Gas Stations

Rt. 60 Econo Gas on Salem Street in Medford is one of gas stations owned by Tony Eskanian that was fined.

– Allison Goldsberry

A state appeals court upheld a judgment won two years ago by Attorney General Martha Coakley against the owners of four gas stations in Medford and Malden for the failure to clean up gas spills and other petroleum related producted.

The judgment requires owners Tony and Ramona Eskanian of Winchester and J & S Corporation to clean up the contamination at the gas stations pursuant to a court-ordered schedule from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

“This judgment reaffirms the crucial role that state laws play in assuring that contaminated sites are cleaned up in a timely manner. Businesses and business owners must be held accountable for damage to the environment that threatens our precious natural resources,” said Coakley in a statement two years ago.

Three of the gas stations, Tony’s Service Station, Rt. 60 Econo Gas, and King Petroleum are located on Salem Street in Medford and one, Service 93 Station, is located on Eastern Avenue in Malden. All of the stations are high volume, cash-only gas and automotive repair stations primarily operated by Tony Eskanian.

The judgment stems from a 2004 lawsuit alleging that the owners and operators of the gas stations leaked gasoline and other pollutants into the groundwater and soil and failed to follow the proper state Superfund Law clean-up procedures. The complaint alleges that the defendants committed multiple violations of the state’s hazardous spill remediation laws at the gas stations over a ten year period.

The complaint went on to allege that the Eskanians, their businesses, and J & S Petroleum Corporation failed to provide proper documentation of clean-up actions taken at each gas station. In April 2002, there was a gas leak at the Malden station that resulted in gasoline from an underground storage tank infiltrating ground water wells, which eventually flowed into a National Grid utility vault, creating a potentially explosive situation. According to the complaint, the Eskanians failed to fully assess the extent of the leak, develop a MassDEP correction plan, and perform and document the clean-up.

The judgment also penalized the owner-operators for violating the state’s Stage II Vapor Recovery Regulations under the Clean Air Act by failing to perform annual Stage II compliance testing and weekly inspections and by not replacing damaged equipment on gas pumps’ vapor recovery units, which protect the atmosphere and consumers from harmful gas vapors.

The owners could further appeal the judgment to the Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in the state, but, according to a state environmental official, it’s unlikely the court would take the case.