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EPA: Suburban oil pipeline leak stopped but gas prices gushing

Federal authorities said it may be weeks before oil starts flowing again through a ruptured pipeline in Romeoville that is blamed for sharply rising gasoline prices in the Chicago area.

The spill discovered Thursday sent hundreds of barrels of crude oil gushing into a Romeoville industrial park and retention pond. Owners Enbridge Energy Partners shut down the pipeline that day but it wasn't until Sunday night that the source of the leak was found and officials confirmed no more oil was flowing. The fiasco sent gas prices for a gallon of regular soaring between 12 cents and 15 cents in Illinois, AAA said Monday. A week ago, gas prices in Chicago were $2.88 a gallon while the Illinois average was $2.79, AAA spokeswoman Beth Mosher said. In Chicago those rates soared by 15 cents since Sept. 6, including an 8-cent spike as of Sunday. Statewide, gas has jumped by 12 cents since Sept. 6. Nationally, gas prices average $2.71 a gallon. The spill is limiting the supply of oil to area refineries, hence the surge in prices, Mosher said. As of Monday about 6,000 barrels of oil had been recovered, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported. Although Enbridge estimated 6,100 barrels spilled, the EPA could not confirm that number and officials said the actual amount could exceed the company's projections.

Crews Monday excavated a 12-foot section of the pipe where the rupture occurred that will be analyzed by the National Transportation Safety Board. A 21/4-inch circular hole was found in the bottom of the pipe, NTSB investigators said.

Basic cleanup will take from three to five weeks, EPA Region 5 on-site coordinator Sam Borries said. But the agency will also need to examine the soil and groundwater in the area for pollution.

There is no estimate yet when the line could restart. Enbridge officials said they were working to divert crude oil to other pipelines and storage areas. The leak occurred on Line 6A, a 34-inch pipe that transports 670,000 barrels a day from Superior, Wis., to Griffith, Ind. When the rupture happened, the pipeline had been handling 459,000 barrels a day of heavy, crude oil. Monday, about 400 workers responded to the spill, which entered sanitary and storm sewers and a retention pond in the area.

About 12,000 barrels of oil mixed with water have been recovered.

The EPA is taking air and water samples. So far, "there have been no detections of any concern," Borries said.

Cleanup site where an oil spill caused by a leak in a Enbridge Energy Partners' underground pipe in Romeoville Saturday. Associated Press

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<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=407542">EPA: Crews closing in on source of oil leak <span class="date">[09/12/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=407386">EPA orders Enbridge to stop Ill. pipeline spill <span class="date">[09/11/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=407101">Enbridge shuts oil pipeline in Illinois after leak <span class="date">[09/10/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=407091">Oil climbs to near $76 after pipeline shutdown <span class="date">[09/10/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=406896">Oil pipeline springs a leak in Romeoville <span class="date">[09/09/10]</span></a></li>

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