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March 06, 2007
Underground fuel tank leaked diesel gas near Blue Garden
The grounds crew spotted what appeared to be an oil spill in the Blue Garden just north of the heating plant on Feb. 21.
When the area was closely examined by facilities personnel, it became evident that the oil did not come from a spill but was resonating from a leak in underground fuel tanks, according to Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Lowell Bromander. There are two 20,000 gallon tanks underground in the area that hold diesel gas.
When temperatures are very low for extended periods of time, Hamline switches to Diesel fuel for its heating purposes.
“When Xcel Energy tells us they’re having problems filling energy demands, they tell us to go to oil,” said Director of Facilities Operations Ken Dehkes. “It’s called interruptible gas, and because of that we get a discount on natural gas."
Bromander believes it is unlikely that there was some type of spill. He said he is certain it came from a pressure release in one of the underground tanks.
The oil was detected because of a pink discoloration on the ground's surface. Dehkes said the pink is added to the oil for just such an occasion, providing quick detection.
“We reported the problem to pollution control, brought the environmental contractor in, and notified the tanker supplier,” said Bromander. “We think that it was all cleaned up that same day.”
In the meantime, the grounds crew has covered the area with plastic to prevent runoff from snow and rain spreading any contamination that might still be present.
“There is still some hand-digging to do, but we think there was less than 20 gallons spilled, and all of it seems to have been contained because of the topography of the area,” said Dehkes.
Posted by dwright at March 6, 2007 08:34 PM
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