State May Help Dunns Clean Up Tank Leak

CORNWALL — In an unusual move, Liane Dunn appeared before a state board in Hartford in November to make a personal appeal for relief. She has applied to the state’s Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Clean-up Account for reimbursement of some or all of a $194,276 bill for the removal of contaminated soil from her property on Route 7, near the intersection of Route 45 in Cornwall Bridge.

Her home and business (a small store called The Rock Shop) are on the site of a former gas station.

She was described as "very articulate" during her appearance, by First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, who accompanied her for both informational and moral support at the account’s advisory board meeting last month.

After her presentation, the board voted to move Dunn’s application to the top of its review list. It is not a large victory, and doesn’t guarantee reimbursement, but any victory is welcome to Dunn after her nearly two-year-long struggle.

The situation has consumed the greater part of Liane and Monte Dunn’s life since the cleanup contractor, Environmental Management Services Inc. (EMSI) came into their life in March 2005.

In June, EMSI sent Dunn a bill that was so large she had to seek a reverse mortgage on her home and business.

At 80, Dunn would like to consider retiring. Her eyesight is going. She opens the Rock Shop when she can. Now her savings are gone and her assets tied up.

Dunn is a "third party" in this case. She inherited the property, once a gas station operated by her late father, after the tanks had leaked gasoline and oil. That was a point in her favor when the board reviewed her case.

Also in her favor is a new influx of funding into the state board’s account.

"Right now, we have enough money available for all claims that are approved," said Jacques Gilbert, who heads the review board. "We don’t have the money for all of them all at once, but it’s not like a couple of years ago when we were millions of dollars behind. We may have to wait for an allotment, but the money is there."

What this means for Dunn is less chance of a delay if her application is approved.

The review process, Gilbert said, takes three to four weeks. The applicant then gets a notice and 30 days to provide additional information. The matter is placed on the agenda of the board’s next monthly meeting.

The review board will have to take into consideration a pending lawsuit. Dunn is disputing many of the fees EMSI charged her. After considerable back and forth, the matter wound up in civil court. That was Dec. 27, 2005, and Dunn is still waiting for word that the jury case her lawyer requested can begin.

EMSI has been paid more than $120,000. Per an agreement approved by the court, another $65,000 remains in escrow pending the outcome of the suit.

Gilbert said the review board won’t investigate the legitimacy of the charges, but will have to consider the suit and the possibility that the bill might be reduced.

"The board would need to consider it, and would normally decide to wait for an outcome of a lawsuit," Gilbert said. "We look at costs in several ways. We review them to make sure they are eligible under the program, that the work is associated with the cleanup and that the charges are reasonable."

Dunn’s case is not a typical one, he said.

"We don’t often get claims where the applicant is in dispute with the contractor. Otherwise, we will review the case like any other. Statutes don’t allow us to take into account an applicant’s personal situation. We did the most we could do for Mrs. Dunn by making her application a priority, and I commend her for appearing."