The US EPA was
notified by the National Response Center of a discharge from an unknown source
of 50 gallons of oil into Timber Creek in Lewisville, Denton County, Texas.
Staff from the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) responded to the incident and
informed the EPA that there are no cleanup contractors on-site. The cause of
the release is unknown, and it is unknown if the release is secured. Timber
Creek runs through a suburban residential area and feeds into the Elm Fork of
the Trinity River.
The RRC stated that the amount spilled
may be greater than the reported quantity, and residents were complaining of an
odor. RRC has demobilized because the cause of the spill was not from a
production facility. EPA was activated to determine the size
of the incident and to document the environmental impacts and any current
removal actions. The spill location is in EPA’s Area of Responsibility;
therefore, EPA is the lead agency.
EPA arrived at
the incident location and confirmed the size of the spill was approximately 50
gallons. We conducted community air monitoring for Benzene using a Drager
X-photoionisation detector (Drager X-pid). The Drager X-pid has a
detection limit of 0.02 ppm and the tentative action level for Benzene is 0.54
ppm. No readings above instrument detection limits were observed in nearby
communities. EPA will do a final assessment to confirm there is no threat of
discharge to Waters of the United States.
