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.