By KWMU staff
St. Louis – Two major oil companies have agreed to pay $16 million dollars to residents of Hartford, Illinois.
For decades, people in the Metro East community have complained of petroleum vapors in their homes from leaky underground pipelines that link a refinery to barge terminals.
The Post Dispatch reports Shell will contribute $8.5 million and Premcor will pay $7.5 million under a tentative agreement.
The settlement is the result of lawsuits filed in 2003 and 2004.
The plaintiffs allege the oil companies contributed to the accumulation of more than 3 million gallons of gasoline and other fuel under the town. However the settlement does not require Shell and Premcor to admit any of the allegations, nor does it settle claims against other oil companies facing lawsuits from Hartford residents.