Officials with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality are overseeing cleanup efforts after an underground storage tank recently failed at a gas station in Canyonville.
A DEQ release said the tanks released an estimated 3,000 gallons of gasoline into the ground. Some of the fuel seeped through the ground and into the creek near the Main Street crossing. That creek is a tributary of the South Umpqua River.
DEQ is also monitoring the water in nearby Canyon Creek. The tank is at the 76 Canyonville Buy 2 in the 200 block of Fifth Street.
The release said the tank failure was discovered February 25th. On Monday of this week, DEQ received a report of gasoline odor and sheen along the creek, about 400 feet from the station. Cleanup response Tuesday and Wednesday included the placement of 300 feet of hard and absorbent boom in the creek, along with the recovery of fuel where it is entering the creek. Throughout Tuesday, the sheen diminished, according to the release.
Preliminary air monitoring at homes and businesses between the station and the creek, showed no sign of odors from the release. Water monitoring upstream, downstream and at the site where fuel entered the creek is ongoing. Sampling results are expected soon.
The release said cleanup crews are in the process of removing the faulty tank and adjacent tanks and will be removing contaminated soil and groundwater from the excavation. Dylan Darling of the DEQ told News Radio 1240 KQEN that the gas station closed this week.
Darling said there is not an estimate as to how long the cleanup will take.
Future updates are expected.
Pictures of the cleanup are posted with the story at www.541radio.com.