'Swift effort' cleans Downers Grove creek after fuel spill
A diesel fuel spill that leaked into a Downers Grove creek has been largely cleaned up, authorities said Thursday.
The spill resulted from a fuel line failure at a Pace Suburban Bus stop Monday evening at the Westmont Metra station, Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken said.
Diesel fuel from the failed line seeped into the storm sewer system and entered St. Joseph Creek in Downers Grove, officials said in a statement posted on the village website.
Downers Grove firefighters received a call Tuesday about a sheen visible on the water of St. Joseph Creek near Brookbank Road and Gilbert Avenue and began investigating.
Pace subcontractor MV Transportation hired an environmental remediation company to begin cleanup Tuesday afternoon, Daly Skogsbakken said.
By Thursday morning, Daly Skogsbakken said, the cleanup was largely complete. Fuel had been removed from the waterway, and the cleanup company left booms in the drains to remove any remaining residue. A sheen no longer was visible on the creek near Brookbank and Gilbert.
Daly Skogsbakken said Pace, MV Transportation and the environmental company are working with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the fuel has been completely removed. She said soil samples will be taken and Pace will continue to monitor cleanup efforts.
The fuel line failure Monday was a "rare occurrence," Daly Skogsbakken said, and those who addressed it made "a pretty swift effort."