MARCH 26, 2015
AUSTINTOWN TWP., OHIO
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says that the
operator of the Pilot Travel truck stop on State Route 46 is trying to locate
the source of a diesel fuel leak that has been seeping into waterways near the
Mill Creek MetroParks Bikeway.
Clean up crews have been placing booms along the Sulfur Run
Creek near Webb Road since last T
hursday when the fuel was detected in a
drainage ditch along the bike trail.
The fuel release could be seen bubbling from the ground
where Pilot's sanitary sewer line meets the main Mahoning County sanitary
sewer.
An Ohio EPA spokesperson says that an emergency response
unit has established containment points in the drainage ditch using booms and a
plywood dam that blocks the fuel on the surface of the water flowing
underneath.
Another boom has been placed in Sulfur Run, which enters the
Meander Creek Reservoir, a drinking water source for the area.
The EPA says that since the fuel is being contained, there
are no impacts to drinking water sources.
A resident who detected the odor of diesel while walking his
dog along the bike trail last week reported the leak to the Austintown Fire
Department.