Kwik Trip Plans Remain Idle After Changes to Wetland Ordinance Denied, Again

Kwik Trip officials were unable to convince the Saukville Board of Zoning Appeals that another gas station near a wetland shouldn't be cause for environmental concern, causing the future of the land the company already owns to continue to linger in limbo.

The Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-1 to deny a modification to the ordinance that is preventing the gas station from being built because the location is less than 600 feet from a wetland. Board members Jim Cryns, Don Clark and Irvin Lusier voted in favor of denying the change, while Dan Sauer voted against the motion to deny.

"Its not like we're talking 10 feet distance, it's asking for a more than two-thirds reduction in that setback (from a wetland)," Clark said, defending his decision. 

The proposed Kwik Trip would be on land just north of Highway 33 near Interstate 43 — developing the vacant lot across from Beck's Exxon Mobile and McDonalds — and is about 175 feet from the wetland.

Beck's is only 80 feet from the wetland and Tri-Par operates a system that is 270 feet away. The ordinance that requires a 600-fet setback was created in 2007, however, in essence allowing the two locations to be grandfathered in. 

Though Kwik Trip officials touted the effectiveness of its system in preventing problems from spills and alerting the company in case of a release, village officials and business owners were concerned about flooding and other adverse weather conditions that could lead to worst-case scenarios no matter what safeguards were in place.

Tom Beck, owner of Beck's Exxon Mobile, presented the board with photos of the flooding surrounding the lot owned by Kwik Trip this spring. 

"You can see, there is water all over the place, and this happens every spring," Beck said. 

This was a main point of concern for many because, as officials pointed out, surface spills are more prominent than issues with underground tanks — and rain water and other runoff will play a role in causing such spills to spread and potentially contaminate nearby wildlife areas.

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"Considering that a lot of these systems are upgraded — we're not having the releases from the pipeline or from the tank," said Sheldon Schall, chief of Storage Tank Regulation for the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. "Where we're seeing some of the issues of contamination, it really is occurring on the surface — not from the tank system itself."

Kwik Trip's proposed system would meet state requirements — such as double-wall tanks and leak detection sensors — that have helped the state to avoid many of the underground leaks seen before the 1990s, for example. Kwik Trip's proposed canopy over the fueling stations would have rainwater spouts connected directly to a drainage system — meaning that water would bypass the surface, and end up in a gutter area with a 1,410 gallon capacity.

"You would capture any product before it even had a chance to leave the site," said Troy Mleziva, a real estate manager with Kwik Trip.

But these safe guards were not enough to satisfy other gas station owner's concerns.

"What happens if there is a spill at the surface level, and it's during a rainstorm – if you have a catastrophic spill and its raining out … where's that water and gasoline going? You can't beat mother nature," said Dominic Alioto Junior, owner of Mid City Quick Mart in Saukville.

Attorney Bruce Block, who represented Kwik Trip during the hearing, said the planning commission's decision had been made on an emotional and personal basis without actually considering the environmental facts as the company had presented them in January, and again on Thursday night.

"Now we have an outsider coming into this community, and all of a sudden a gas station is the scariest thing in the world," he said. "And nothing can go right and everything can go wrong."

Patch will follow up with the village and Kwik Trip to find out whether any further actions are planned after Thursday night's meeting. Sign up for the newsletter and don't miss out on any updates.