Cleanup, investigation of Edwardsville oil pipeline leak continues. Here’s what we know.
Contaminated water and soil were still being removed from the site of an underground oil pipeline spill next to Cahokia Creek in Edwardsville on Monday. The cause of the oil spill remained under investigation.
More than 163,000 gallons of oil, or about 3,900 barrels, saturated the soil around the leak, some of which seeped into the adjacent creek before the flow was stopped on Friday, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency estimates.
Marathon Pipe Line said in a news release that about 5,900 barrels of a water and oil mixture had been removed from the creek as of Monday morning. The company also said about 150 cubic yards of “oily soil” had been removed since the leak was discovered on Friday.
“They’re continuing to pull water and oil from the creek,” said Kim Biggs, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency received a report at 10:18 a.m. Friday that oil had been spotted in the creek, according to Biggs.
Biggs did not have information about how long oil had been leaking from the pipeline and could not break down how much reached the creek, which runs parallel to the pipeline at the site of the leak, which is near the intersection of Illinois 143 and Illinois 159.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was in the metro-east on unrelated business Monday, said state agencies are monitoring the spill.
“We have our Illinois EPA on-site and we’re getting local officials, making sure that we’re protecting drinking water, that we’re doing everything we can in the area to avoid any further environmental damage,” he said. “And, of course, we’ve contacted the attorney general to make sure that we hold the company accountable for all the expense that will no doubt ensue as a result of the spill.”
Marathon has said that there were no “water intakes in the immediate vicinity of the release.”
The pipeline runs from Wood River to Patoka and carries crude oil, Biggs said. She did not know how long the cleanup would take.
Dozens of workers were on the scene of the pipeline leak on Monday as part of the effort to repair the pipeline and clean up the contaminated water and soil. They had four large backhoes and a bulldozer on the site. Mobile lighting also had been placed so the cleanup can continue during the nighttime hours.
Excavated soil is being stored in roll-off containers on site for the immediate future, according to the Illinois EPA. Marathon Pipe Line is developing plans for disposal that will be coordinated with the Illinois EPA.
No injuries have been reported.
The smell of oil was still evident around the area of the leak as of Monday, but Marathon said air monitoring equipment has not detected any “hazardous level” of emissions.
Marathon said an unspecified type and number of animals have been “cleaned and experts are working to rehabilitate animals safely.”
The company asks that residents who see animals harmed by the oil to call Robert Liebl, an Illinois conservation police officer, at 618-444-1540. Liebl said he had not yet received any calls from the public.
The Treehouse Wildlife Center located near Godfrey rescues and rehabilitates wildlife, but a representative from the group could not be reached for comment on Monday.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 4:02 PM.
