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caption, page 7:
Crane at work at site of fuel oil spill in E. Putnam. Linda Lemmon photo.
Fuel spill work
State
officials:
‘This is
far from
over’
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
E. PUTNAM — Intense work on the March 21 fuel oil spill on Mary Crest Drive continues with an enormous crane added to the equation last week.
The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) estimated that 25,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil leaked from one of the above-ground tanks at the DDC Propane LLC. A very large percentage of the leaked fuel was recovered. While some of the oil was contained within an older containment area with a clay floor, some escaped from the containment area and released to the environment. The total amount of oil that has moved into and through the ground is the subject of ongoing environmental investigations.
Richard C. Swan Jr., assistant division director, Emergency Response Unit of the Emergency Response & Spill Prevention Division of the DEEP, said: “Yes, the cranes have been brought in to remove a group of tanks where the site had the tank failure. This old containment area was made up of cement walls with a packed clay floor. The company is removing the tanks within this area so that the contractor can now get into the floor of the containment area. They will start removing the clay base and any contaminated soils.”
Last week the Northeast District Department of Health (NDDH) said that tests taken the water from private wells in that area have shown “no contamination detected.”
Swan said it appears that the cause of the leak was in the area of the drain plug at the bottom of the tank in question. “It appears at this point that corrosion might have played a part as the plug is what let go.” He said the age of the tanks is still being investigated.
He added that once the tanks are removed, the contractor will be removing the soils from the bottom of the containment area, as well as the sides. “The contractor will dig as deep and as wide as they need to in order to remove the contaminated soil,” Swan said. “There has been what we refer to as an ‘interception trench’ installed between the tank area and the wetlands so as to capture any fuel oils leaching out, before they reach the wetlands. We have done extensive ‘geo probe” work to identify the areas on the property that have contaminated soil. These areas will also be excavated in every direction until we find clean soils.”
Asked what the time frame would be, Swan said it would be “premature to even guess how long this will be going on.”
He said the “current property owners have been cooperative, and want this site clean, as well does our department(s). We (DEEP and federal Environmental Protection Agency) will not be leaving this site until we feel comfortable with the results. We take pride in the fact that when we leave the site, it will be clean as humanly possible.”
He added: “It should be noted that has been a significant event involving a wide range of stake holders that worked together nonstop from the beginning. The property owner, the mayor, the town offices such as the fire marshal, wetlands officer, plus the NDDH, not to mention the members of our DEEP Emergency Response Unit, Kropp Environmental and even the State Emergency Management Division, never took their eye off the ball. This was a ‘team’ effort from day one. The skills and expertise that are still working on this spill are second to none. Everyone continues to work very hard to keep an open line of communication with the public in an effort to be as transparent as possible. This is far from over. I know the NDDH will continue to work with their state partners, in conjunction with the site Licensed Environmental Professional, to ensure those with wells in the immediate area in good hands.”
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