Leaking Edwardsville pipeline repaired, company says it has OK to resume flow of oil
The underground crude oil pipeline that leaked oil into Cahokia Creek in Edwardsville has been repaired and the federal government has “authorized the restart” of the pipeline, the pipeline owner announced Tuesday.
Marathon Pipe Line, the company that owns the pipeline, did not say in its news release if the company had yet started the flow of oil through the pipeline, which runs from Wood River to Patoka.
The company said the cleanup of Cahokia Creek is continuing.
The leak was reported to state officials on Friday morning.
Marathon said about 3,900 barrels of oil leaked from the pipeline and that federal officials are conducting an investigation into the cause of the spill, which occurred near the intersection of Illinois 143 and Illinois 159.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has referred “an enforcement action” against Marathon to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
“The referral cites violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and the Illinois Pollution Control Board’s regulations,” the Illinois EPA said in a news release.
As of Tuesday morning, the cleanup crews had removed about 11,075 barrels of water and oil mixture from the creek and about 390 cubic yards of “oily soil” from the site of the leak.
The pipeline runs parallel to the creek.
State environmental officials have said they do not yet know how much oil leaked into the creek.
Marathon released information about the equipment used company’s cleanup effort. Here is the list of equipment that is either on site or on the way to the site:
21 skimmers: equipment that remove oil from water
44 vacuum trucks: equipment that removes oil and water
3 tanker trucks, 32 tanks and 36 waste containers: to collect oily water and soil for processing and disposal
6 excavation equipment: to expose the pipeline and remove contaminated soil
More than 4,550 feet of boom: to contain the oil on the water
Marathon said over 270 employees and contractors have been assigned to the site.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 11:01 AM.
