County Looks At Inspecting More Wells As Fuel Pipe Is Repaired

Repairs are complete on a ruptured pipeline that leaked 31,500 of jet fuel into a creek along Broadway.

Water and air quality tests are continuing in the area as the cleanup effort continues.

“At this point they have begun flowing product back through the pipe,” said Holley Wade, a spokesperson for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Office of Emergency Management. “The cleanup is continuing but we don’t know how long it will go on.”

The pipeline, which carries jet and diesel fuel to Orlando, . It was finally repaired at 11 p.m. July 25.

An information line – 877-936-2253 - has also been set up for residents with questions about the release.  The line will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All three of the wells within a ¼ mile of the leak got a clean bill of health in tests for possible contamination, said Joe Hollier, a spokesman for Central Florida Pipeline.

 “Our plan is to test all the wells within ½ mile and if we don’t we find anything within that radius there’s no need to go outside that radius,” Hollier said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation gave Central Florida Pipeline – the pipeline’s owner – the green light to resume pumping fuel through the pipe at 8:15 today, July 26, according to the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center.

Terry Flott, chairman of the 600-member United Citizens' Action Network, is on the issue in the wake of the leak.

“I am glad the repair has been done but I am still concerned that we don’t have a community meeting set up at this time but I am not giving up,” said Flott a Seffner resident who has contacted the county’s Environmental Protection Commission, county commissioners and the Department of Environmental Protection about the issue.

 “We need the meeting so everyone can hear what is being done by way of remediation for soil contamination as well as water contamination for drinking water and local wetlands,” Flott said. “We are now aware we have a pipeline in this community so we need to know the emergency plan for breaches. Citizens need to know who to call and who is in charge when it comes to this type of emergency.”

The fuel leaked into a small ditch along Broadway that is part of the drainage system for Sabal Business Park. Central Florida Pipeline is using booms and other containment equipment to contain the leak and ensure that it does not reach the Tampa Bypass Canal.

Testing, to date, shows no fuel has been found in the canal and air quality remains within acceptable limit, according to the Emergency Operations Center.

Cleanup crews are now building underflow dams which allow water to flow under a dam while the fuel, which is lighter than the water, collects on top of the dam and is then collected.

“This will increase the efficiency of the cleanup effort,” said Alain Watson, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County.

Watson said the county’s main concern is making sure the fuel doesn’t leak into the Tampa Bypass Canal. Water from the canal is used for public drinking water.

“Fortunately the point where we take water out for public drinking is upstream but we are still doing tests both up and downstream from where the leak occurred.”

Watson said the pipeline company will be paying for restoring the canal to its original condition.

The Hillsborough County Health Department - Environmental Health Division will make recommendations regarding the possible testing water wells in the area.

The county health department is currently studying maps to locate all the wells in the area. That’s expected to take 24 hours.

So far, they have located three wells within ¼ mile of the leak.

The owners of those wells have been told they have nothing to worry about at this point but warned to stop using their well water if they smell fuel in the water, said Steve Huard, a spokesman for the health department.

“Once we are done with the mapping study and we have captured all the wells in the area we may then want to test additional wells,” Huard said.

There is no impact to the municipal water supply, Huard said.