Efforts continue after more than 250,000 gallons of gasoline spill in Huntersville

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - Efforts continue after more than 250,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a pipeline in Huntersville.

Colonial Pipeline responded to a leak in one of their underground lines crossing the Oehler Nature Preserve owned by Mecklenburg County on Friday, Aug. 14 at 5:42 p.m. The preserve is located on Huntersville-Concord Road east of the Town of Huntersville.

The cause of the release is reported as equipment failure. Colonial Pipeline originally estimated that 63,000 gallons of gasoline was released from the line.

But Colonial now estimates that approximately 6,490 barrels or 272,580 gallons of gasoline were released from the pipeline during the incident, and approximately half of the released amount has been recovered to date.

These numbers, which are still an estimate, are based on additional data that Colonial has obtained and analyzed over the course of the last several weeks. The numbers may need to be revised again as the remediation project continues, and we are committed to keeping the public informed.

Officials say environmental and remediation efforts are being conducted under the guidance of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ).

As of Friday Sept. 11, a fourth round of residential water well sampling was completed the previous week for homes within a 1,500-foot radius of the incident location, which is the monitoring radius established by NCDEQ.

Colonial officials say they assure the community that there have been no detections of any petroleum constituents in any of the samples that we have taken from any of the residential water wells.

Colonial says they have offered to connect residents within the 1,500-foot radius to the public water system and to pay for the costs associated with doing so.

“We are not required by NCDEQ, or any other government or regulatory agency, to take this step; however, it is consistent with our proactive and conservative response to the incident, as well as with our company values and our commitment to the community,” a message read.

Homeowners who have been offered the opportunity to connect to public water are free to decline the offer, and if they do so, Colonial will continue to monitor and test their water wells, at no cost to the homeowners, for the foreseeable future.

Officials say they continue to sample residential water wells within a 1,500-foot radius of the release site.

So far, there have been no detections of petroleum constituents in any of the samples that have been taken from any of the residential water wells.

As of Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, Colonial had installed 77 wells at the site specifically as part of the response process. Of the 77 wells installed, 47 have been installed as monitoring wells, and 30 are recovery wells. Neither are used for potable water.

When Colonial encounters product in a monitoring well, officials say product recovery begins immediately in an effort to control and limit any further migration. Colonial also is supplementing their current recovery systems with additional technologies.

Officials say surface water sampling continues to be conducted weekly and after any qualifying storm events.

Colonial is working to develop and submit an Initial Abatement Report, Comprehensive Site Assessment Report, and a Corrective Action Plan to NCDEQ.

Colonial Pipeline is providing regular updates on a response website.