Oran contamination leads to lawsuit filed by attorney general

ORAN, Mo. -- Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed a lawsuit against the owners and former owner of a service station in Oran in an attempt to force them to clean up what he claims is soil and groundwater contamination.

In the lawsuit, filed in Scott County Circuit Court earlier this week, Nixon maintains that the current property owners Ronnie and Sandra Diebold and former owner Marilyn Diebold have not cooperated with efforts by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to clean up petroleum contamination caused by four underground storage tanks that have since been removed.

Nixon stresses that the situation is serious because of the station's proximity to a well that serves as a public water supply for Oran, which is about 25 miles south of Cape Girardeau. He also pointed out that Ronnie Diebold has not allowed state DNR workers on the property.

"We're of the mind that there is contamination there that needs to be cleaned up," said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste. "We want them to determine how bad the situation is and then clean it up."

One estimate places the work to clean up the contamination at $17,614.

'Just a poor boy'

But Ronnie Diebold, who is also on Oran's Board of Aldermen, said he is not responsible for the contamination, which he is not sure exists.

"The tanks were taken up before I even owned the station," he said. "It's not my responsibility. Besides, I don't have any money. I'm just a poor boy trying to make a living and take care of a wife and two kids."

Ronnie Diebold also pointed out that the wells near his station are no longer used. Another nearby serves as a back-up well, he said.

According to the lawsuit, Marilyn Diebold owned the Diebold Service Station at 214 Ada from 1986 until 1998. Ronnie Diebold said his father actually started the station, but he died of lung cancer a few years ago. Marilyn Diebold, reached at her home Wednesday, declined to comment.

In February 1999, Marilyn Diebold transferred the business to her son, Ronnie, and his wife, Sandra. The Department of Natural Resources, the lawsuit says, has cited the defendants several times in the past four years because of problems with the storage tanks and contamination from them.

The lawsuit says that samples taken from monitoring wells indicate that the petroleum contamination is migrating off site through the groundwater.

The lawsuit asks the defendants to be ordered to investigate and clean the contamination from the site and comply with state laws on underground storage tanks in the future. Nixon also wants the Diebolds to pay penalties -- $10,000 a day for each violation -- under the Missouri Clean Water Act, as well as the costs of the state to investigate and prosecute the case.

Holste said it is irrelevant that the tanks were taken out before Ronnie Diebold took over the garage.

"Number one, I would point out that the mother is also a defendant in the case," he said. "Also, responsible parties can include subsequent owners as well."

Diebold said that the "trace" of contamination found on his property could have come from a railroad that used to run nearby. As far as not letting state DNR workers on his property, Diebold said, "Why should I?"

Oran Mayor Tom Urhahn said he doesn't believe the situation affects the city at all, contamination or not.

"That's between DNR and the station," he said. "As far as our wells, there's no problem. We monitor the wells and we haven't had any problems. Samples are taken every month. It was an issue in the past, but I don't see how there can have been any contamination recently."

Urhahn said the Diebolds are good people.

"Ronnie's on the board of aldermen, I don't know what the problem is," he said.

The state is not convinced, however, that contamination wouldn't pose a health risk to the community.

The issue first came up in 1999, when low levels of MTBE, an octane booster for gasoline, were found in Oran's well-water supply. The wells serve more than 500 homes and businesses in the north Scott County community. In animals, high dosages have been known to cause blood chemistry changes and other chemical abnormalities, but its effects on humans are unknown.

During that investigation, 16 oil samples were taken and the sample taken from the Diebold site contained the highest level of petroleum, the lawsuit says.

Holste said the Diebolds have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit, and the matter could go to trial.

"Of course, we're open to settling this thing," Holste said. "Our only interest is getting the site cleaned up."

Sandra Diebold, Ronnie's wife, said the whole situation has been a shock to the family.

"It's been nothing but a nightmare," she said. "I'm totally shocked. I don't feel like we've done anything wrong."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137