Fuel pipeline ruptured in Van Buren County
Posted 3:07 PM, June 3, 2016, by Bob Brenzing and Rebecca Russell
GENEVA TOWNSHIP, Mich. – South Haven Area Emergency Services are currently on the scene of a diesel fuel pipeline spill in Geneva Township.
The line has been shut down and no more fuel is being spilled.
According to SHAES, Wolverine Pipe Line Company of Portage said that an underground pipeline was ruptured by an excavator that was working on land near County Road 380 and 62nd Street, Friday afternoon at about 1 p.m. A crew from Wolverine is also at the scene.
According to Wolverine Vice President and Manager Marius Greene, roughly 8,400 gallons of diesel fuel spilled in a farm field, or about 200 barrels.
“We have the source contained, the pipe is excavated and we’re putting the material into vacuum trucks and that material is going into storage vessels” said Greene.
Officials shut down the line running from Niles to Grand Haven quickly after they learned of the spill as a precaution.
“We’re at the point now where we’re just cleaning up the area trying to evaluate the extent of the damage” said Greene.
Greene doesn’t anticipate any immediate impact this may have on the area and they’re working to prevent any long term impact. This pipeline runs to a tankage farm with a stored inventory and there are other pipe lines still operating, so there shouldn’t be an immediate impact on fuel prices.
“There is no immediate danger to the public” said Greene. “We visited with landowners in the area, we’re working closely with agencies on site as well and we’re working jointly around our mitigation plan.”
Crews have been on scene all day assessing the damage and cleaning up the spill. They plan on working around the clock until everything is completely cleaned up. No injuries were reported and because of the farm’s remote location they don’t see any danger for people living nearby.
Officials at Wolverine want to use this as an opportunity to tell people to call 811 before doing any excavating or digging.
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