Trial For Northport Oil Spill Likely For Spring 2023; Spills Noted In Cottondale & Adger

NORTHPORT, AL — A civil trial over a Northport chemical spill is expected roughly a year from now, as more revelations find their way into court filings.

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Attorneys for Burgess Truck & Equipment Repair and Delta Oil — who are the defendants in the civil lawsuit in federal court — met in late February with the legal counsel for adjacent property owner Pro-Built Development as the two sides prepare for the discovery phase of what is anticipated to be a complex courtroom battle.

According to the most recent filing on Feb. 23, both sides agreed the evidence-gathering discovery phase must be complete by Jan. 13, 2023. What's more, both sides will also have until June 30 to join any additional parties to the lawsuit and to amend the pleadings.

The latest filing concludes with all parties agreeing that the case should be ready for trial by March 2023, which should take approximately three days.

As Patch previously reported, a separate class action lawsuit has been filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court by residents of nearby Huntington Gardens. This lawsuit is ongoing and you can learn more about it here.

Separately, the federal lawsuit alleges that much of the oil and solvents identified came from two Delta Oil tanker trucks parked at the edge of the Burgess property line adjacent to 20 acres owned by Pro-Built Development off of Mitt Lary Road in Northport. This property is directly behind Palmetto Street and within walking distance of Huntington Place Elementary.

Patch was the first to break the story of the oil spill and we have reported extensively since it was discovered in April 2021 following initial complaints of chemical odors by residents of Huntington Gardens and nearby Huntington Place. The spill was found to impact not just residential areas in the vicinity of an elementary school, but nearby Carroll's Creek.

It's important to point out that a 2010 sedimentation study by the U.S. Geological Survey noted that Carroll's Creek is the primary subwater shed of six creeks that comprise Lake Tuscaloosa — making it one of the major tributaries to the manmade lake. The study found Carroll's Creek constitutes about 6% of the surface drainage area of Lake Tuscaloosa, which is the drinking water source for tens of thousands in Tuscaloosa County, including the City of Tuscaloosa.

The Bigger Picture

While much of the narrative has justifiably focused on Burgess Equipment Repair, more and more evidence continues to mount against Tuscaloosa-based Delta Oil, which was reportedly leasing space on the property, in addition to managing two other sites that have now come into question.

Patch spoke at length last May with former Delta Oil employee Joseph Ellis — a crucial defendant in the Circuit Court lawsuit and a former driver for Delta Oil Services who could end up testifying against his former employer. During the interview, he described illegal dumping that went on at the southern end of the Burgess property for the two years he worked for Delta Oil Services.

Recent court filings provide further insight into the practices of Delta Oil, in addition to others showing that the company had been hit with $58,000 in fines from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in late 2021.

These fines related to the company's two facilities in Adger and Cottondale — wholly unrelated to the spill it has admitted to in Northport.

An ADEM inspection of the facilities conducted last May found oil leaking into the woods behind the Adger facility and into a small stream, along with used oil visible on the ground.

Other infractions by Delta Oil Services:

• Failure to label 20 aboveground tanks containing used oil.
• Failure to keep closed two totes containing used oil.
• Failure to provide secondary containment for the storage of totes containing used oil.
• Storing oil in three aboveground tanks that were not in good condition and were visibly leaking.
• Storing used oil in three aboveground used oil storage tanks that did not have a secondary storage containment system.
• Failure to clean up used oil released from a secondary containment drainage hose and from leaking aboveground tanks.
• Transported EPA hazardous waste from a generator in Tuscaloosa without an Alabama Hazardous Waste Transport Permit.
• Storing hazardous waste at the Adger facility without a permit.
• Treating hazardous waste by mixing it with non-hazardous used oil in tanks at the Adger facility.

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