Local
Huntersville wells tested after pipeline spills 63,000 gallons of gasoline
Wells are being tested near the site of a Colonial Pipeline Co. spill of 63,000 gallons of gasoline last Friday near Huntersville. The spill closed a road as hundreds of repair and cleanup workers and firefighters converged on the site.
The spill came from an underground pipe that crosses Mecklenburg County’s 142-acre Oehler Nature Preserve at 14511 Huntersville-Concord Road, east of Huntersville, the county says.
Colonial reported Wednesday night that the pipeline had been repaired and the “vast majority” of the gasoline recovered.
Its statement referred to a leak in the line, but the company has not responded to Observer questions about what caused the spill. Mecklenburg County has said only that an equipment failure caused the release.
Colonial says it is working with local residents to sample and test wells within a 2,000-foot radius of the spill.
Mecklenburg County Public Health “does not believe there to be any threat to potable drinking water wells due to the nature of the spill and the depths of the water wells,” the department reported Monday.
Wednesday afternoon, the county said that no contamination has been found so far in tested wells or in surface waters such as streams.
“No one can state that there will not be impact on either stormwater or wells at this point,” county spokeswoman Rebecca Carter said by email. “An ongoing well sampling plan will monitor the wells in the involved radius and Mecklenburg County will continue to monitor for potential surface water impact. This is an ongoing situation that will require continuous monitoring at this point.”
The pipeline company said it will notify landowners as testing results for their wells come in, and that it is sharing those results with the Environmental Protection Agency, state environmental regulators and Mecklenburg County.
Rusty Rozzelle, water quality program manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, said the county has been involved in response to the spill since it was discovered and continues to follow clean-up work.
“So far no gasoline has made it to (the North Prong of Clark Creek), which is located over 1,000 feet away. We don’t anticipate that the creek will be impacted by surface water flows,” Rozzelle said by email. “Also, if it ever makes it to the creek we have a continuous automated monitoring station located downstream that will alert us immediately. Staff with Environmental Health have already started monitoring wells in the area and are responding to a lot of calls.”
More than 250 Colonial employees and contractors, along with members of the Huntersville Fire Department, are responding to the spill, Colonial said Tuesday afternoon.
A section of Huntersville-Concord Road remains closed to allow crews access to the site, Colonial said, adding that it will notify the community when the road reopens.
Colonial says it pipes gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil from refineries primarily located on the Gulf Coast, with customers throughout the South and East, through more than 5,500 miles of pipeline.
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