Gunnison readies for legal fight over leak

GUNNISON — Fearing that Wind River Petroleum might ignore damage claims for a 20,000-gallon gasoline leak, city officials have retained an attorney.

In a special meeting of the Gunnison City Council Tuesday, the council formally named the city's attorney, Peter Stirba, to represent the city in possible litigation against Wind River, the parent of Top Stop and owner of the leaky underground storage tank.

The action followed a similar one last week in which the council retained its own environmental consultant, Lance Hess, to provide analysis, information and advice independent of that provided by Top Stop and Wasatch Environmental, the consulting firm hired by Top Stop to remediate the spill.

Also at Tuesday's council meeting, the city informed residents of the steps the city was taking to remedy the problem. Stirba headed that portion of the meeting, and offered to represent individuals and businesses with damage claims in possible litigation in addition to the city's.

"This is a complicated issue. It is not going to resolve itself tomorrow. It implicates health, it implicates public safety," Stirba said.

He explained that the $1 million safety net for environmental cleanup administered by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality would most likely not be used for damage claims.

"That particular fund is designed for cleanup reimbursement only. It doesn't have anything to do with any other issues," such as health or displacement.

Some people have been told by doctors they may need to leave their homes because of gas fumes, and local doctors' offices have reported a rise in the types of complaints indicative of environmental contamination, such as headaches, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and disorientation.

Immediate and potential long-term health effects of the contamination, such as cancer, "is nothing the state is ever going to address," he said.

He said his and the city's objective in a possible lawsuit would be to have a "totally satisfactory cleanup, and to make sure that the public health and any issues related to our citizens are taken care of."

Stirba reiterated the city's lack of satisfaction at how the situation has been handled.

"We have already requested additional resources with the state because we're not satisfied that adequate resources have been brought to bear on this problem," he said.