The 37th St. Oil Spill Site involves the accumulation of oil within the City of Ashland, KY sewer system at a lift station located at 37th St. and US Highway 23. The City of Ashland ("City") notified the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KYDEP) in June 2004 that diesel fuel was accumulating in a wet well at the 37th St. lift station. Since June 22, over 5,000 gallons of oil product has been recovered from the lift station. Measurements taken at the lift station indicate that the oil is accumulating at a steady rate of about 5-10 gallons per hour. The City is attempting to contain the spill by pumping oil from the lift station on a daily basis. However, storm events of sufficient rainfall intensity periodically causes the sewer to bypass treatment and discharge an unknown quantity of oil directly to the Ohio River.
On July 7th, OSC Smith responded at the request of KYDEP in an attempt to identify the source of the release to characterize the threat of an oil discharge to navigable water. The oil is originating from an unknown source below ground and is collecting within a 27'' sewer main on the AK Steel Coke Plant property, which is located along US Highway 23 immediately south of the lift station.
At the present time, The City and AK Steel continue to investigate the source of the problem, but are encountering significant obstacles, such as:
The affected portion of the sewer line is up to 1500 feet long, and the City doesn't have accurate records of the exact location or depth of the utility along this length of sewer.
Attempts to survey in an approximate location of the affected section of the sewer have been unsuccessful, in part due to the fact that the AK Steel coal inventory of more than 70,000 tons is staged directly above it.
Initial attempts to use a camera in the sewer to identify where the pollution is occurring resulted in limited success due to high flow conditions and obstructions in the line.
The OSC demobilized the site on July 9th. KYDEP remains onscene on a daily basis to monitor efforts by The City and AK Steel to further investigate the source of the oil discharge.
KYDEP reported to the OSC on July 12th that a second attempt to locate the alignment of the sewer suggests that the affected portion may be somewhat less than originally anticipated. The City and AK Steel plan to make a second attempt at putting a camera in this section of sewer under low flow conditions. This work is scheduled for the early morning hours on July 14.
The OSC is discussing the situation with the EPA Regional Office, KYDEP, and the USCG National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) for purposes of identifying the most appropriate response authority for this site.
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