At about 0930 hours on September 3, 2008, about 770 barrels of of ultra low sulfur(ULS) diesel fuel leaked from a rupture in a Marathon pipeline near Ashmore, Illinois.
Marathon noted a pressure drop on the pipeline and shut down the line within a minute. They commenced an investigation by ground and air, and by about 1500 hours the same day discovered the location of the leak. The leak was caused by a rupture in a section of 12-inch diameter pipe several hundred feet north of the Marathon Ashmore Pump Station, located on the northwest corner of Illinois Highway 16 and County Highway 2170E. This station is about 5 miles east of Charleston, IL, and 2 miles west of Ashmore, IL. The section of pipe that ruptured is located in a cornfield and is buried 3 to 4 feet underground. It is part of Marathon's Wabash pipeline. The nearest surface waterway is an unnamed creek about 1,000 feet west of the location of the pipe rupture. That creek flows south into Polecat Creek, which flows west into the Embarass River, which then flows into the Wabash River.
Marathon has repaired the leak and has commenced clean-up operations. Illinois EPA and U.S. EPA are also on scene to assist in the response. Please see the POLREP section for more information.
