Source: https://westfaironline.com, October 26, 2018
By: Bill Heltzel
Faucet Works, a plumbing supply store in Eastchester, is bounded on two sides by gas stations that, according to a lawsuit, have contaminated the store.
Frank Sabia, the owner of Faucet Works, sued Groundwater and Environmental ServicesInc. (GES) and CPD New York Energy Corp., operator of one of the gas stations, for $5 million Oct. 19 in Westchester Supreme Court.
Sabia claims that exposure to toxic compounds have “caused him to suffer severe health problems, including heart disease resulting in a heart attack in 2017, chronic neurological damage, impaired vision, damage to his liver and kidneys, chronic fatigue and depression.”
Groundwater and Environmental Services and CPD New York Energy did not immediately respond to requests for their versions of events.
Around 1999, the complaint states, Groundwater and Environmental Services of Exton, Pennsylvania, began remediating contamination at an Exxon station at 381 White Plains Road. The lawsuit refers to the location as the CFI site, after the name of a subsequent owner it does not identify. Neither Exxon nor the second owner are named as defendants. Property records indicate that the CFI site was owned by Cumberland Farms Inc., from 2003 to 2016.
In 2008, the complaint states, Groundwater and Environmental Services documented contamination in the soil and groundwater at the boundary between Faucet Works and the CFI station.
In 2011, Groundwater and Environmental Services developed a remediation plan for the second gas station at 407 White Plains Road, operated by CPD New York Energy of New Paltz.
But Groundwater and Environmental Services allegedly failed to notify CPD Energy or state environmental officials about its previous findings at the former Exxon-CPI station.
Groundwater and Environmental Services made it “appear that all of the contamination of the Faucet Works site had migrated from the CPD site,” the lawsuit states.
Groundwater and Environmental Services’ motivation, according to the lawsuit, was a lucrative agreement with CFI for environmental services at many locations.
Groundwater and Environmental Services installed a filtration system at Faucet Works, but according to the lawsuit, the company used the wrong size and type of piping and connected a discharge line to the wrong sewer line, resulting in contaminated water to frequently flood the store’s basement.
By not identifying all contamination from the CFI site, Sabia claims, Groundwater and Environmental Services prolonged his exposure to toxic substances.
The remediation work ended in June 2016.
Sabia accuses Groundwater and Environmental Services and CPD New York Energy of negligence. He is demanding $5 million in damages for himself and $2 million for the store.
He is represented by Mark Cermele and Eric Lindquist of Cermele & Wood LLP, White Plains.