On Sept. 18 the Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (FACT) learned from the Ohio EPA that a massive volume of diesel fuel was found to be leaking into Alum Creek from a 15,000 gallon underground diesel fuel storage tank located at the City of Columbus trash truck depot at 2100 Alum Creek Dr. The eroded fibreless tank appeared to be only a single layer design vs. double shelled composition that is now traditionally required for this type of subterranean application. An adjacent 7,000 gallon gasoline storage container may also be leaking and was removed as well.

On Sept. 29 Ohio EPA reported to FACT that the City of Columbus had reported 29,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel had leaked, of which only 1,700 gallons had been thus far retrieved. The massive amount of petrochemicals leaked over the past three months (breach incident estimated occurring on June 21) most likely has contaminated the ground water, detrimentally impacted the surrounding river corridor areas and harmed downstream ecosystems.

The fiberglass underground diesel fuel storage tank was installed at this adjacent riverbank setting in 1991. This is near the location where a diesel fuel oily substance was first discovered floating along Alum Creek after a rainstorm on Aug. 5. FACT members discovered this pollution while conducting a river clean-up via canoe, and they immediately reported it to OEPA spill hotline. An Ohio EPA investigator came on-site the next day, could not determine the cause or source from a visual perspective, and the agency did no further investigation.

On Sept. 17 the Columbus Dept of Public Utilities alerted Ohio EPA that they had discovered a leak on city property. The only reason they had checked the tank was because they couldn’t figure out why they were spending so much money for fuel!
Columbus reported that they had allocated $400,000 emergency funds for initial consulting and clean-up work by two contracting firms

On Oct. 5, Jed Thorp, Ohio EPA Public Involvement Coordinator, reported to FACT that total recovery was 4,948 gallons from Sept. 18 – Oct. 1, the time since crews started mitigation work via multiple well systems. This leaves over 20,000 gallons still out in the environment—in Alum Creek, on into the Scioto River, and able to filter into the groundwater.

Mary Webster, spokesperson for the City of Columbus, was quoted in the media as saying that the spill had caused no harm to the creek. However, no investigation had been done by the city to determine the effects on creek life, either in the area or downstream in the Scioto River.

The empty cavities left by the removal of the two fuel tanks have now been filled.

Areas on the south side of Columbus along Alum Creek Drive, along SR 104 and along the Alum Creek banks were long ago sanctioned as garbage dumping grounds and City of Columbus landfills. Burial sites of 55-gallon drums of toxic/hazardous waste are documented throughout seven Brownfield sites, and a soil recycling business still exists. Last summer, while constructing the Alum Creek bike trail by I-70, a cache of drums was accidentally punctured by MetroParks contractor's excavating equipment. Cleanup of the resulting contaminated site in the Ohio Dept. of Transportation's right-of-way resulted in extended costs and a 6-month delay in completing the paved greenway trail.

As of Oct. 18, 2007, Columbus has reported recovering approximately 6,000 gallons of the spilled fuel. The total amount spilled is only an estimate.

For more information or to help FACT learn more about legal issues with this tank and other contamination in this area, contact at or , FACT Watershed Coordinator. Also visit www.friendsofalumcreek.org.

Editorial Note: David Greene, former COG ExCom member, has called for Columbus to conduct a survey of the entire industrial area along Alum Creek and SR 104 and request funding for a cleanup.