Pollution, lawsuits and complaints remain

By Joe Kelly 

It’s been a full year since a tanker truck crashed on Route 44, spilling thousands of gallons of gasoline into the middle of Norfolk. While the initial cleanup is largely complete, residents in the direct path of the spill are still wrestling with the consequences. Several have not returned to their homes. 

Meanwhile, legal actions and battles over insurance have entered a new phase. A major lawsuit on behalf of a group of residents was filed in September in Superior Court in Hartford. Some property owners have also complained that the insurer for the transport company responsible for the crash is making it difficult to receive compensation for damages and costs.

When the tanker truck traveling from New Haven to Canaan overturned on Route 44 early on the morning of Nov. 5, 2022, it jolted many nearby residents out of their beds, drew scores of emergency responders from both Norfolk and surrounding towns and sent gasoline cascading downhill toward Pettibone Lane and Maple Avenue.

The cleanup of gas-laden soil near Route 44 and along Pettibone Lane was declared complete in the spring, allowing crews to direct their attention to Maple Avenue. From mid-June until just weeks ago, the road was closed to through-traffic, allowing vast amounts of polluted soil and water to be hauled away. Now that the heavy equipment and crews have left, Maple Avenue is passable again—just in time for Halloween trick or treating. Daytime work will continue on Maple Avenue to complete a long-planned drainage project.

But the cleanup and remediation along Route 44 may not be entirely over. New testing has confirmed that abandoned pipes running parallel to Route 44 carried gas to homes further west of the crash site. Affected residents have been directed by the Torrington Area Health Department to stay out of their homes. Plans are under consideration to equip some of the homes with air exchange systems to prevent toxic buildups.

Clint Webb, an environmental consultant and one of the homeowners who has been displaced, said the old pipes may extend all the way down to Maple Avenue near Hillside Street. Webb is one of nearly 20 homeowners and residents who are plaintiffs in the civil action that seeks compensation for damages resulting from the spill. The suit names the gas supplier, East River Energy of Guilford, along with its trucking arm, Soundview Transportation; vehicle owner, Ryder Truck Rental; Lamont Barham of Bridgeport, the 27-year-old driver; and the insurer, Federated Service Insurance Company of Minnesota, and charges the various parties with recklessness and negligence.

The harshest and most detailed claims are made about the insurer, alleging that Federated has unnecessarily delayed compensation for the costs of things like temporary housing and that its representatives “laughed” and “repeatedly scoffed” during phone calls, dismissing the concerns of residents. Residents with homes in the path of the spill who are not party to the lawsuit have also reported difficulty in dealing with the insurer. At a town meeting on the spill on Oct. 24, First Selectman Matt Riiska encouraged anyone who is submitting claims and experiencing difficulty to contact the town.