MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A former gas station owner will be forced to pay fees for oil and contamination found in the soil around the site of his former gas station, according to an announcement by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.
David D. Mageland, the former owner and operator of the Gays Mills BP, will be forced to pay $10,885.70 because he allegedly violated an order from July 2013 that said he is responsible for the site of the gas station. Mageland owned the gas station until fall of 2010, when he emptied the tanks and sold it to the Village of Gays Mills, Van Hollen said.
The contract called for Mageland to clean the site to get it back to its original environment. It also called for Mageland to pay for the investigation of the site, which is common under Wisconsin law.
The investigation ensures that those who operate a business with hazardous material return the environment to its original state with clean land, water and air, Van Hollen said.
The Department of Natural Resources directed Mageland to conduct a site investigation and follow other legal requirements, but he allegedly did not take action. The State has now demanded that the order be followed, and Mageland has not appealed the order.