I-Team: Gas Station Leak Traps Homeowners In Polluted Properties

MARLBOROUGH (CBS) -- Mike Buckley will never forget the first swim he took in his pool during the spring of 2012.

"When I got out, I smelled like I had been dipped in gasoline," Buckley said.

The moment was a stunning realization that a leak at a nearby Citgo gas station in Marlborough was much worse than first thought.

Just a month earlier, the petroleum release was detected in the basement at the neighboring home of Ray and Debbie Chavez.

The initial assessment from the Department of Environmental Protection underestimated the true scope of the leak.

It turned out more than 2,000 gallons of gasoline had seeped underground, polluting four different properties.

Years later, a massive cleanup process continues.

Workers dug up Buckley's pool--a backyard "sanctuary" the retired firefighter built himself--and replaced it with more than a dozen monitoring stations and recovery wells.

Buckley and his wife, Karen, said their contaminated property has lost all its value.

Until the cleanup is complete, they are unable to sell their property or refinance to tap into the equity they've built up.

"It's devastating," Buckley told the I-Team.

At the adjacent home, the Chavez family knows the feeling.

In late 2012, the couple had retired and accepted an offer to buy their house so they could move closer to family in Ohio.

However, the gas spill was a deal-breaker and they have been stuck in their home several years longer than expected.

State Fund Provides Gas Station Owners With Safety Net

After the petroleum release, the Buckleys filed a lawsuit against the station owner, alleging negligent operation of the underground storage tank.

That is when they discovered federal legislation that allows gas station owners to operate without liability insurance.

"That was unfathomable to us," Buckley said.

Instead, Massachusetts has established a fund that reimburses owners for cleanup costs associated with petroleum releases.

The fund is financed by annual tank registration fees, along with a 2 ½-cent tax on every gallon of gas delivered in the state.

Gas station owners who meet certification requirements can tap into the fund to cover cleanup costs.

Underground tanks are required to have third-party inspections every three years.

Prior to the discovered leak in April 2012, the tank at the Citgo inspection was inspected in November 2010, according to state records.

Property owners like the Buckleys are eligible to get paid from the fund for things like property damage or bodily injury.

However, the only way to submit a claim is by winning a civil judgment.

And with the lawsuit still dragging on in court, it is already too late.

Each spill is capped at $1.5 million of reimbursement payments.

With such an extensive cleanup process, every dollar has already been spent.

"Even if we got a judgment, there would be nothing left for us to collect," Buckley said. "It is all dried up."

Proposed Legislation Could Provide Relief For Gas Spill Victims

Representative Danielle Gregoire, who represents Marlborough, has followed the saga for several years.

"Nothing about this situation makes sense to me," the state lawmaker told the I-Team.

Gregoire is filing several bills related to the issue that she hopes will gain some traction at the statehouse.

The proposed legislation would require station owners to carry liability coverage; would allow spill victims to submit claims directly from the state fund; and would raise the cap of reimbursement payments for each spill.

The I-Team found the state fund produces a lot more revenue compared to claims it pays out for petroleum cleanup.

In the past fiscal year, the fund generated about $75 million, but only paid out $14.5 million for gas spills all across the state.

Many of the reimbursement payments are small in scope.

But others indicate a much larger cleanup effort, including $279,000 to a gas station in Belmont and $226,000 to an auto repair shop in Dedham.

Check The Map To See Payments For Petroleum Cleanups In Your Community

Gregoire said she is trying to educate colleagues about the issue and has scheduled hearings for the proposed bills on September 29.

"We need to be protecting people in the future from something like this happening again. It really could happen to anyone," she said.

State Cuts Off Fuel Supply At Gas Station

In July, state regulators with the DEP issued a delivery prohibition order, essentially locking the tanks and pumps, and cutting off the fuel supply at the gas station.

State law requires station owners to maintain a $1 million assurance to cover cleanup costs associated with a potential gas spill.

The owner, Robert F. Brown, had previously relied on the state fund to fulfill that financial guarantee.

However, because he had already tapped the $1.5 million of fund payments for the ongoing cleanup, that money is no longer available.

Brown can't use the fund again until the DEP determines the cleanup process is complete.

With no other insurance policy or surety bond to pay for another potential spill, state regulators took action.

While unable to sell gas, the business remains open for auto service.

Brown declined an interview with the I-Team.

But during an appeal of the prohibition order, attorney Samer Obeid questioned the timing of the enforcement action.

He suggested authorities are succumbing to political pressure as public scrutiny of the situation in Marlborough grows.

"All of a sudden there is tremendous attention on this site," Obeid said.

"We feel (it has) made its way to the DEP and they issued this order as a way to deflect from some of the heat."

The I-Team confirmed it is the first such enforcement action against a gas station by the DEP since new regulations took effect in January 2015.

Obeid raised the question of whether there are other gas station owners who have also dipped below the $1 million assurance, but continue operating without penalties.

"You're complaining because you're the guy who got pulled over when everyone else was speeding just as well," countered DEP attorney Michael Dingle.

The I-Team filed a public records request to find out how many other gas stations owners are operating without enough financial assurance to cover the costs of a petroleum release.

A DEP spokesman said the information was still being compiled.

CITGO Removes Signage From Station

Within days of the fuel delivery prohibition, representatives from Citgo swooped into Marlborough to remove signage and branding from the station on Bolton Street.

In a statement provided to the I-Team, a Citgo official said all stations are locally owned, independently operated, and responsible for complying with state and federal regulations.

"We know that incidents at the local stations reflect on Citgo," the statement read.

"We take situations like this very seriously and expect that the responsible parties and all governing agencies involved will work together to resolve this situation."

A resolution can't come quickly enough for the affected homeowners.

More than three years later, the disruption of the cleanup process continues.

The Buckleys have drained their nest egg to pay their attorney's fees for the civil suit, and to hire a consultant to help translate complicated air quality testing reports taken on their property.

The home they have owned for 35 years feels more like a prison.

"We're stuck here. We're locked here. Best-case scenario, we might still be here anyway. But now we have no choice," Mike Buckley said.

Ryan Kath can be reached at rkath@cbs.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.