Balto. County residents sue fuel company over MTBE

Residents of three northern Baltimore County homes who say their well water has been contaminated with a gasoline additive have filed a $200 million class action lawsuit against a fuel company and the operators of a nearby gas station.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Baltimore County Circuit Court, claims that Carroll Independent Fuel and the operators of a Citgo station at Wally's Country Store in Parkton failed to properly monitor underground gasoline storage tanks, which contained methyl tertiary butyl ether, commonly known as MTBE. The chemical has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

Mandatory testing of groundwater last year led to the discovery that two wells at homes near the gas station contained MTBE at levels dozens of times higher than what is deemed safe by state environmental officials. According to the suit, 11 of 26 residential wells near the station at Middletown and Rayville roads tested positive for MTBE.

In the suit, five residents of homes near the gas station claim that they have been placed at increased risk of cancer and have suffered from nausea, vomiting, rashes and eye, nose and throat irritations.

They are seeking compensation for medical monitoring, for the cost of filtration systems and water testing, and for potential loss of property value. They are also requesting that they be connected with a new water supply, according to the lawsuit. They are seeking more than $25,000 each in actual damages and $200 million in punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.

Officials with Carroll Independent Fuel did not return phone calls [e-mail]