Monday, February 23, 2015

UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK LEAK SPILLS DIESEL FUEL BEHIND GREENVILLE SHRINERS HOSPITAL IN SOUTH CAROLINA




FEBRUARY 17, 2015

GREENVILLE, S.C.

Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency will investigate a fuel spill that sent gallons into an Upstate river bed, Tuesday morning.

 The spill was discovered behind Greenville Shriners Hospital for Children when diesel fuel was seen coming out of a storm drain and flowing into Brushy Creek.  The hospital tracked the source of the leak underground to a fuel holding tank.

"They are our backup systems for our boilers for heating and air," explained Randy Risser, Business Development Director for the hospital.


With the help of state agencies, including the Department of Health and Environmental Control, Risser said they drained the tank and started work to contain and clean up the spill.


"We have a spill plan and so we've been working with the environmental engineers, DHEC, Hazmat and we're just going to continue to work with them to see what our next steps are and how we go about taking care of this issue," he said.


This hasn't always been the case.


In 2013, the EPA penalized the hospital nearly $6000 dollars for failure to have an adequate spill plan. In 2010, a similar fuel spill contaminated brushy creek and reedy river, costing them $3,000 in EPA penalties.


According to DHEC, Tuesday's spill sent fuel as far as the Conastee Lake. Fire departments dropped collection booms downstream to collect the fuel and prevent it from entering area water treatment plants.


DHEC says there is no public threat and it's still too early to tell if the EPA will penalize the hospital again.


We asked the hospital if any new procedures or testing would be put in place.

"At this time we really don't have all that nailed down. We are going to keep working with those agencies and figure out what we need to do with this tank," said Risser.


If you see any release of pollutants into the environment, you're urged to call DHEC's Emergency Response Section or ERS. DHEC responds to all credible reports of dumping, spills and releases of hazardous substances as well as fish kills.