Case Update: On April 14, 2023, the court held oral argument and granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, but allowed Plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint. On May 15, 2023, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint based on the court’s April decision. The amended complaint brings similar claims on behalf of residents in rural Mahomet, Illinois and Fisher, Illinois whose water has been contaminated. Defendants again moved to dismiss the complaint, and Plaintiffs filed a response in opposition to their motion on August 8, 2023. The Court has not yet issued an order on Defendants’ latest motion to dismiss.
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Beth Fegan and Spiros Law lead a class action lawsuit against natural gas provider Peoples Gas for neglecting to maintain an underground gas storage facility in central Illinois causing natural gas to leak into the local aquifer contaminating the well water of residents in rural Mahomet, Illinois and Fisher, Illinois.
The complaint alleges that Peoples Gas’ neglect caused large amounts of natural gas and other combustible gases and hazardous chemicals to surge into the Mahomet aquifer – the sole source of water for east-central Illinois – from an underground natural gas storage facility it operates in Champaign County, Illinois, rendering the water undrinkable, and in some cases flammable.
A notable contamination event occurred in 2015, when the well corrosion reached the point of “blow-out,” resulting in a large amount of natural gas pushing into the aquifer, contaminating drinking water. According to the suit, it wasn’t until a year later in 2016 that Peoples Gas noticed the gas bubbles percolating in the water, yet the company took no immediate, meaningful action.
According to the suit, Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) failed to perform EPA-required routine testing that would have detected the problem and prevented the gas leak. According to the complaint, the last test was conducted more than 27 years ago, when the tests revealed severe deterioration of the steel piping system.
The lawsuit seeks retribution for plaintiffs’ significant physical and financial risk and aims to hold Peoples Gas accountable for failing in its duty to keep residents and homeowners safe. If you have been impacted, please fill out the intake form to the right or email us at aquifer@feganscott.com.