News Release 585

FERGUSON CONVENIENCE STORE LOSES MORE THAN 20,000 GALLONS OF GAS FROM LEAKING FUEL TANK

Missouri Department of Natural Resources crew oversees cleanup

Volume 35-585

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 17, 2007 -- A Ferguson convenience store lost more than 20,000 gallons of fuel from a leaking underground storage tank pump, according to emergency responders from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, who were called to the scene late Friday afternoon to investigate the leak.

A weekend investigation of the leak, which had occurred at the Quik Trip service station, 9420 W. Florissant, found that 21,000 gallons had escaped from the pump into the station's tank pit for a four-and-half day period before being discovered on Friday.

Contractors hired by the station removed approximately 15,600 gallons of water and fuel from the tank pit, and installed an interceptor trench and a recovery well in an effort to stop fuel from entering a sanitary sewer. Absorbent booms and pads were placed in a nearby tributary to Maline Creek where fuel had contaminated the waterway, causing a heavy petroleum sheen on the water.  

As of early Monday afternoon, explosive levels of gasoline and gasoline vapors were still present in the sewer system. The convenience store is continuing to work with the Department of Natural Resources and the Metrolpolitan Sewer District to clean up the release.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section was contacted Friday afternoon by a sewer district staff member, who reported a release of gasoline into a city sewer in Ferguson. That release was traced back to the service station, and the leaking pump was discovered and shut down. Department staff stationed in Eureka were dispatched to the scene to oversee the cleanup.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department's 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact spill line at
573-634-2436. For more information contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at
800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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