Oil Leak by the Yellow Breeches Under Control

Yesterday afternoon, a mass email was sent out informing the Messiah College community that "a small amount of diesel oil had been washed by the rain from a construction vehicle into the Yellow Breeches Creek."  The email went on to assure readers that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be at the campus that afternoon to "assess any environmental impact, ensure that all appropriate procedures were followed, and provide instruction and guidance for future safety and preventative measures on the site."

As it turns out, when the EPA and DEP were notified, they did not feel the need to come to campus to assess the situation.  According to Brad Markley, the Director of Facility Services, the DEP representatives who were contacted said that Messiah College had followed all the proper procedures to ensure the containment of the oil, including putting down oil-soaking pads to catch as much of the oil as possible.

Cocciardi and Associates, Inc., a safety and environmental health agency, did come to assess the damage and make sure all proper procedures were followed.  Markley said that they also felt the Messiah College employees had followed all the proper procedures.  The representatives of the agency advised those employees to leave the oil-soaking material out until Monday.

"We never did determine where [the oil] came from," said Markley, "but we checked all the equipment and nothing was leaking… we think what happened  was… there might have been oil on the equipment and the rain washed it away."

Markley said we should not be concerned about the effect this will have on the wildlife in the Yellow Breeches, because there was such a small amount of oil involved.

It looks like the ducks and fish in the Breeches are safe, and when spring comes, the creek will be safe for all sorts of water-related tomfoolery such as tubing, canoeing, and dunking.