Friday, February 20, 2015

IOWA DNR INVESTIGATES 100-GALLON FUEL SPILL ON FROZEN DES MOINES RIVER DUE TO A RELEASE FROM A GAS STATION THAT REACHED A STROM DRAIN AND THEN THE RIVER







FEBRUARY 20, 2015



ESTHERVILLE, IOWA (AP)




Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say about 100 gallons of fuel has pooled on top of a frozen section of the Des Moines River.




DNR spokesman Kevin Baskins says E-85 fuel overflowed Friday as a tank at an Estherville service station was being filled. He says the fuel reached a nearby storm sewer and flowed to the West Fork of river in northern Iowa.




Officials say they began cleaning the spill atop the ice and placed a barrel at the end of the storm sewer pipe to collect any fuel that continues to flow through and keep it from reaching the river.




Baskins says the DNR doesn't expect significant environmental impact from the spill.




E-85 is an abbreviation for an ethanol fuel blend of 85% denatured ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume, although the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hydrocarbon can vary considerably while still carrying the E85 label.