Up to 50 gallons of fuel spilled into ground and sewers from Rolling Meadows gas station
An estimated 30 to 50 gallons of gasoline from a leaking fuel dispenser at a Rolling Meadows Mobil station seeped into the ground and city sewer system in recent weeks, causing vapors that at one point were explosive, city officials confirmed Wednesday.
The leak has been stopped, while the gas station at Hicks Road and Euclid Avenue was given clearance by the state fire marshal to reopen, as soil and water testing and environmental remediation continues.
Residents from the 28 homes along nearby Adams Street that are served by that sewer line raised a host of concerns and questions during a neighborhood meeting Tuesday night, including why the station was allowed to reopen, why officials didn't act quicker, and whether it's safe to eat fruits and vegetables from their gardens or for their pets to be outside.
"We're an open book on this. We think we did about as good as we could have," Assistant City Manager Glen Cole said of the municipality's response that started with the first report of a gas odor June 27.
A resident smelled gas that day, but a city public works crew said it appeared to be isolated. Two days later, more calls came into city hall reporting strong odors in some houses and throughout the neighborhood.
The check of a manhole on the gas station property confirmed a floating "sheen" of gasoline and strong vapors that had built up to a potentially explosive level, Cole said.
The fire department's hazmat team went door to door to notify homeowners and check gas levels inside houses, but no dangerous levels were measured, and no one had to be evacuated, Cole said. Meanwhile, crews used a fire hydrant to flush water through the sewer to reduce the vapor buildup - a process that continued until July 1.
An investigation by the fire marshal's office determined the source of the leak to be a dielectric fitting under one of the fuel dispensers. The leak started above ground but went directly into the soil below, leading to the nearby manhole and the city's sanitary sewer system.
The gas station's leak detection alarm was triggered June 25, the investigation found.
The fire marshal allowed the station to reopen July 6 after the leak was closed and tested, but city officials believe small amounts of gasoline continue to enter the sewer system from surrounding soil. As required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the station's owner hired a contractor and environmental consultant to investigate and clean up the remaining gas underground - a process that could take months.
Initial written reports are due 20 and 45 days after the incident took place.
"We don't have all the information yet," Cole said. "A big question to be answered here is just what the extent is of the spill. Was it just on the station grounds (or) did it make its way to adjacent properties?"
The city council July 25 will consider updates to its 1970s-era fueling station "spiller" ordinance, which allows the city to recover costs from the gas station owner for manpower and supplies during the hazmat response. An initial cost estimate wasn't available.
"We believe we're going to get repaid either way, but it's a good time to update these regulations especially as we're dealing with this matter," Cole said. "That weekend before July 4 we had folks up, down, left, right out here flushing the sewer and taking gas measurements. It was an involved response."