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Jay Bergman is owner of Bergman Petroleum and Petco Petroleum . Petco owns and operates 19 oil fields in 5 states in the Midwest. The company also owns 1,438 oil production and injection wells in Illinois, 214 open pits and/or concrete storage areas, and 144 tank batteries (used for the injection wells).

In 1992, Bergman Petroleum purchased two fields from Exxon-Mobil in downstate Illinois. The Louden oilfield is the largest in Illinois. The Dix Field, where about 200 barrels of crude oil was spilled, is much smaller. The wells are not of good quality, so the water injection method is used by injecting salt water to raise oil pressure. .

Mr. Bergman has stated "Every oil company of any size, especially Petco's size has leaks and spills occasionally, even as careful as you try to be." (Pantagraph, Jan. 27 2005). The fact is that repeated negligence has resulted in spills. Salt water is corrosive to the pipes used in the water injection method, so the pipes must be replaced frequently, which Petco Petroleum does not do, preferring to wait until an accident happens. Petco operates 3.5% of all oil wells in Illinois, but is responsible for 34.72% (175 out of 504) of all pollution events between 1992 and 2000.

There have been over 168 spills in the past two years. Most of the spills occurred from lack of equipment maintenance. Personnel have no spill cleanup training and there is no preventive maintenance. Mr. Bergman has intimate knowledge of his company, the fields, the employees and the maintenance problems. According to the case briefing* he told subordinates not to report spills to the proper authorities, so the complete number of spills is unknown.

The environmental impacts of these spills include killing crops, flora, fauna and aquatic life. The spills also significantly alter the soil and water chemistry. Petroleum kills organisms by depriving them of oxygen. Salt water adversely affects fresh water organisms and fouls drinking water supplies.

When the Student Environmental Action Coalition launched a petition drive to Governor Rod Blagojevich requesting that Jay Bergman not be re-appointed to ISU's board of trustees, Mr. Bergman's responded that "their concern is to promote a radical, leftist agenda. I just happen to be their target this semester." SEAC, according to Mr. Bergman is "so far to the left they make Jane Fonda look like Ronald Reagan." Mr. Bergman has also stated, "This is not that big of a deal except in the minds of some students." (Pantagraph, April 8, 2005)

SEAC believes that it is unprofessional for a Trustee to personally attack and dismiss the concerns of students he is supposed to support and represent.

*This fact sheet was compiled from news articles and case briefings from "People of the State of Illinois v. Petco Petroleum Corporation and Jay Douglas Bergman" and is available on our website.

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