Gunnison reels in aftermath of gas leak

GUNNISON — Officials in the small Central Utah city of Gunnison are taking action to get straight answers about a gas leak from a Top Stop gas station that last July sent 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of gas into the soil beneath the city.

The leak directly or indirectly caused several commercial shops to go out of business, and now threatens to pollute a river that runs through the city.

The city is also taking aim at Top Stop —a subsidiary of Wind River Petroleum, which is half-owned by former Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Keith Christensen— Top Stop's environmental consultant Wasatch Environmental, and even the state to some extent, for allegedly downplaying the situation and withholding information.

This week, the city hired its own environmental consultant to provide information about the gas leak and its cleanup, independent of Wasatch Environmental and the state's Department of Environmental Quality.

Top Stop has not responded to repeated calls for comment.

"I'm so infuriated at this process, at this 'Let's keep it on the down low,"' said Gunnison City Council member Lori Nay on Thursday. "We have more questions than answers here, and we're going to take a very strong approach. This is going to get much bigger."

The gas leak became news Aug. 10, when local and state officials ordered the evacuation of an entire Main Street block— the block heaviest populated with businesses — because of fumes from gas that had leaked from Top Stop's underground storage tanks.

The closure lasted only one day, and in the next few weeks, Wasatch Environmental installed underground soil-ventilation systems. Many people seemed content that the situation was under control. But, said Nay, "That's because they were never told how serious it was. Everyone minimized it."

Since August, however, six businesses, including Top Stop, have closed their doors for good, among them the dress shop, Lila Lee Apparel. Most businesses cited the gas leak as the reason.

Then, last Wednesday, resident Jeremy Taylor and his family were forced to evacuate their home because of elevated levels of gas fumes four blocks away from the spill site. In the direction of that migration and only a couple hundred feet from Taylor's home runs the Sanpitch River, which empties into Yuba Reservoir.

Taylor is the son of Rod Taylor, another city council member.