Companies that operate the Flying J Travel Plazas in Clive and Davenport were ordered by a Polk County judge today to pay $140,000 in fines for water pollution violations at those two locations, according to a release from the Iowa attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Tom Miller filed a lawsuit Monday against CFJ Plaza Co. II LLC, CFJ Properties, and Flying J Inc., doing business as Flying J Travel Plaza. The lawsuit stems from a diesel fuel spill at the Clive site in March 2007 that polluted a two-mile stretch of Walnut Creek, and from what Miller called “scores of environmental violations over several years” at the Davenport Flying J.

The spill in Clive resulted in major cleanup efforts, and contractors hired by Flying J removed petroleum contamination from the creek and polluted soils for several weeks after the petroleum release, the lawsuit claimed.

The Clive Flying J Travel Plaza, located at 11820 Hickman Road just west of Interstate 35/80, has seven underground storage tanks that can hold a total of 108,000 gallons of diesel fuel or gasoline. Construction is scheduled in 2009 to ensure compliance with a new National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit to be issued by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Meanwhile, the court ordered specific interim measures to prevent pollution, including installation of absorbent material, daily inspections and regular maintenance procedures.