EVERTON, Mo. A local highway is closed to traffic– after a pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil. The leak was detected Saturday morning in rural Lawrence County, near Everton.
And while crews work to vacuum the oil, Highway M remains closed.
Clean-up is still underway, but the company who owns the pipeline, Enbridge Energy, says they have zero timeline on when it will be finished. We now know it’s a 22-inch pipe in diameter that is leaking.
“We understand the land owner concerns, and we’re taking every measure to protect the well water and the ground water,” said David Hodgins with Enbridge Energy.
The company tells KY3 News that 15,330 gallons of crude oil spilled out.
Enbridge is working round the clock on cleanup. The Department of Natural Resources is also helping.
Those who live nearby say they are very concerned.
“It’s kind of ironic that what we’re trying to do is live a sustainable lifestyle here on our farm and we make big strides to try to do that– and now to find out that there is somebody upstream from us that’s having some problems that could be devastating,” said Steve Stephens, who lives nearby the spill.
Enbridge tells us the air and water quality as of Monday evening have not reached dangerous levels.
http://www.ky3.com/content/news/UPDATE–Oil-spill-worse-than-initially-thought-410874425.html
They’re ALWAYS worse that initially thought, because the fines are based on gallons of spillage.