Chicago IL (10/27/2022) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Petroff Trucking Company, Inc., for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act. The company has agreed to purchase and secure 15.5 wetland acres to compensate for wetlands it destroyed in East St. Louis, Illinois.

The settlement is memorialized in a proposed consent decree that the United States lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on October 25, 2022.

“The wetlands of the American Bottoms are vital to the water quality and flood control of the Mississippi River Valley,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “Today’s settlement ensures that this significant environmental asset is valued and that those who damage it are held accountable.”

In 2020, the United States, on behalf of EPA, alleged in a complaint that from 2016 through 2019, Petroff Trucking Company, Inc., dredged, filled, and excavated 15.5 acres of wetlands without a permit in clear violation of the Clean Water Act. The operation discharged pollutants into the wetlands which led to their complete destruction.

Petroff Trucking Company, Inc., will not pay a civil penalty pursuant to the civil penalty factors of the Clean Water Act and EPA policy. The Department of Justice and EPA completed a financial analysis of Petroff’s financial documentation and found that it was formally dissolving and no longer had an ability to pay a civil penalty. However, Petroff has agreed to find and expend $259,000 to buy compensatory wetlands to resolve this action.

The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. For more information, copies of the complaint and the consent decree will be available on the Department of Justice website.

Contact Information: Allison Lippert (lippert.allison@epa.gov) 312-353-0967