Officials with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management were in Marion on Tuesday cleaning up thousands of gallons of jet fuel that spilled into a creek Monday afternoon.
Robert Elstro, public information officer for IDEM, said about 2,500 gallons of fuel spilled in the fueling area at Marion Municipal Airport. The material traveled into the ground and into a storm drain, eventually making its way to Deer Creek, where it was stopped by booms.
“Thankfully, the weather has kind of helped the recovery efforts,” Elstro said. “The contractors were called and able to place booms across the river and get vacuum trucks to pull the (fuel) out of the river.”
Contractors were set up behind Ressler Trucking Service, where the oil was stopped in the creek.
They were working closely with the Grant County Emergency Management Agency, while local Hazmat team members were put on stand-by.
EMA Director Bruce Bender said, to his knowledge, a spill like this hasn’t happened before in the area.
The preliminary investigation revealed an airport official was filling a tank with jet fuel from a delivery truck, and the tank accidentally overflowed.
No residential houses or properties were damaged by the spill.
“The contractors did a good job stopping it,” Bender said.
He also said the fuel didn’t get on the road, so no streets were blocked.
“It was caught real quick,” he said.
Elstro said IDEM’s policy is to restore the creek back to its pre-spill condition.
“It’s jet fuel, so obviously we’re concerned about the flammability of it,” he said. “Our contractors are going to be very concerned about it catching on fire or exploding.”
Officials have been taking samples of the fluid to make sure they and others aren’t in danger.
“These people are trained to deal with this type of spill, so they’re taking precautious,” Elstro said. “If there is a danger, they will stop working until it’s safe to continue removing the contaminant.”
He wasn’t sure how long the clean-up would take, but said the area will be manned at all times until then.
The booms set up in the creek will contain the fuel, while the water in the creek continues flowing. The fuel doesn’t mix with the water but floats on top of it. A vacuum will then suck the fuel out of the creek, Elstro said. The material will then be taken in a portable liquid storage unit to be disposed of.
Elstro said excavators also will be on scene to assist with flushing the fuel out of the soil.
Department of Natural Resources also responded to the incident and didn’t observe any fish kill or other effects on wildlife, Elstro said.
Airport officials couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday. It’s unclear whether the airport closed or if any flights were canceled during the incident.
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