State Attorney General William Tong has announced $350,000 in penalties and payments will be levied on Soundview Transportation following the November 2022 oil tanker accident in Norfolk.
The settlement requires Soundview to pay $100,000 to the state as a civil penalty, $200,000 payment to compensate DEEP for costs associated with overseeing remediation and $50,000 to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Fund to support state enforcement actions on behalf of Connecticut consumers.
In addition, Soundview is fully responsible for all costs for the original and continuing remediation and clean-up of the contamination, which will total millions of dollars.
The accident occurred in the early morning hours of November 5, 2022, when a tanker truck leased and operated by Soundview hit a utility pole and a fire hydrant on Route 44 just west of Botelle School. The truck’s full cargo of 8,200 gallons of gasoline spilled out, contaminating the yards of nearby residences and traveling through the town’s stormwater sewer system into nearby surface and groundwaters. It is the largest petroleum spill in Connecticut history.
“Soundview’s tanker accident resulted in severe disruption to neighbors and significant environmental harm,” said Tong.
The accident sent 20 regional mutual aid companies scrambling to assist Norfolk’s first responders. Reacting to the real possibility of a massive explosion, they worked quickly to reduce the hazard, ordering the electricity in the village center to be turned off. Aquarion Water Company was contacted to ensure adequate water pressure for any firefighting efforts and the DEEP Emergency Response Unit arrived to work with volunteer first responders.
The concentration of toxic and potentially explosive chemicals caused six residences to be evacuated. Some of these families would not return to their homes for many months.
Ongoing remediation efforts required substantial removal of contaminated material along Route 44, Maple Avenue and neighboring streets. The saturated ground around the two nearest properties—approximately 600 tons—was removed to a depth of nine feet. Vacuum trucks removed approximately 90 thousand gallons of contaminated water from streams and storm drains.
Norfolk has been reimbursed for its remediation efforts through payments from Soundview’s insurer. First Selectman Matt Riiska estimated that $500,000 was expended on cleaning up contamination on Maple Avenue alone. The town was also responsible for housing the displaced residents.