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Oil spill won’t leave lasting effects
BOARDMAN
A creek where a small heating-oil spill occurred will not be completely clean until the weather warms.
For most of last year, a home heating-oil tank slowly leaked until residents of Beech Avenue, which runs parallel to Maple Avenue, notified township officials this week.
“The concern is that this is home heating oil, and as a hydrocarbon, it can contaminate the water and plant life,” said township Administrator Jason Loree.
However, there should not be any lasting environmental effects, said Kurt Collar, on-scene coordinator for the EPA’s emergency-response unit.
Home heating oil is similar to diesel fuel and is sometimes known as “red diesel.”
“The impact from diesel fuel will be very low, really no lasting impact. The creek is not used for drinking-water purposes, and there were no fish or aquatic life,” Collar said.
The tank holds 250 gallons, but it was unclear exactly how much had flowed into the creek near 599 Beech Ave., he added. The creek is part of the Yellow Creek Watershed.
“Given the conditions, we attacked the gross contamination. Unfortunately, with the winter conditions, some of it’s frozen in the ice. We still have containment systems out there [to clean up the oil]. As the ice melts, then we’ll pull the remaining oil out,” Collar said.
The fire department worked with the EPA to cut through the ice to install containment booms, Loree said.
On Monday, Loree reviewed the site with Fire Chief James Dorman and a HazMat representative, and then called the Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The spill “was minimal, but it was enough to act upon,” said Sean McGuire, urban conservationist for the district who contacted the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Collar said spills of home heating oil are fairly common.
“It’s unfortunate, but often it’s negligence or lack of maintenance. Other times, stuff happens. As frost comes, tanks can slide off the pedestal and break the line and drain [the oil],” he said.
The homeowner at 559 Beech Ave. was cited by the EPA and may have to pay for the cost of cleanup because state law prohibits polluting water.
The Ohio EPA has an emergency line that is staffed 24 hours a day at 800-282-9378.