Pipeline break spills thousands of gallons of gasoline 10.19 p.m. ET (230 GMT) June 7, 2000 JACKSON, Mich. (AP)  An underground transmission pipeline ruptured Wednesday morning, spilling thousands of gallons of gasoline into a drain that carried it to the Grand River, authorities said.

Residents living within a one-square-mile area of the leak site in Blackman Township, just north of Jackson and about 80 miles west of Detroit, were asked to voluntarily evacuate their homes after the 9 a.m. spill, said County Administrator Chet Taraskiewicz.

Gov. John Engler declared a local state of emergency Wednesday night, Taraskiewicz said. He did not know how long the evacuation would last.

No injuries were reported and a cleanup was under way, Taraskiewicz said.

The cause of the leak, which spilled between 15,000 and 100,000 gallons of gasoline, was not immediately known, Taraskiewicz said.

Gasoline rose to ground level, then began flowing into the storm drain that eventually carried it to the Grand River.

Electrical and natural gas service was cut off to nearby homes and businesses, and residents in nearby rural areas were urged not to use water from private wells

http://www.foxnews.com/national/0607/d_ap_0607_278.sml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 07, 2000

Answers

Jun 9, 2000 - 09:04 AM

Evacuations, Cleanup Continue in Gasoline Spill's Wake The Associated Press

BLACKMAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Hundreds of people remained forbidden from going home today as crews cleaned up thousands of gallons of gasoline spilled two days earlier when an underground pipeline ruptured. Residents of about 450 homes were evacuated Wednesday from a the area around the leak in this Jackson County community 80 miles west of Detroit.

Deputy County Administrator Randy Treacher said cleanup crews were expected to remove most of the gasoline visible on the surface by tonight.

He said it was uncertain when the roughly 1,200 evacuated residents would be allowed to return home.

The gasoline leaked from a broken 16-inch underground pipeline near a Wolverine Pipe Line Co. fuel storage depot, officials said. The cause of the rupture remained unknown.

The leak spilled up to 100,000 gallons of gasoline into a drain that carried an undetermined amount of the fuel to the Grand River, authorities said.

Bob McEwen, who lives near the drain, said at least some of the gasoline made its way into a nearby creek.

"Fish were actually jumping out of the creek to die," he said. "I've never seen anything like that."

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGIV2G6U99C.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 09, 2000.