The safety of the public and response personnel and protecting the environment continue to be key priorities as work crews continue to operate on a 24-hour schedule as part of efforts to repair a pipeline in Huntersville, NC. A section of Huntersville-Concord Road remains closed to allow crews safe access to the site.
Nearly 200 Colonial employees, contractors and the Huntersville Fire Department personnel are part of the response effort.
Colonial appreciates the ongoing support of the Huntersville Fire Department, the Huntersville Police Department and other response partners as we work together to ensure public safety and protection of the local environment.
The following summarizes and updates key response activities at this time:
- The pipeline segment remains shut down at this time and road closures are in place to ensure a safe work environment and the safety of the public.
- Crews are onsite and are actively working to control and monitor the source so that clean-up and repairs can begin as needed.
- Colonial has worked with the Huntersville Police Department and the North Carolina Department of Transportation to establish the road closure of Huntersville-Concord Road between Lawther Road and Asbury Chapel Road, and provide a temporary traffic detour around the work site via Glendale Drive, Ramah Church Road and Hiwassee Road.
- Colonial is working with local residents to maintain local access to residences impacted by the road closure.
- Colonial has established an Incident Command System (ICS) to ensure a well-managed response, in conjunction with the support and collaboration from local response partners.
- An open line of communication has been established with several state and local agencies including the Huntersville Fire and Police Departments, the City of Huntersville, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stormwater Services, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management, Mecklenburg Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Colonial Pipeline estimates that 63,000 gallons of gasoline have been released from the line, and the majority of the product was recovered as it was being released.
- Colonial has implemented proactive environmental protection efforts including air quality monitoring and water quality sampling.
- Colonial is actively working with local residents to sample and test wells. Mecklenburg County Public Health has been updated on the situation and plans to monitor the progress. At this time, Public Health does not believe there is any threat to potable drinking water wells.
- Colonial has successfully implemented proactive measures to protect the closest surface waters, the North Prong of Clark Creek. These are precautionary measures and we continue to monitor the situation closely as we work with local and state resources. The creek is currently unaffected and is being closely monitored.
- Colonial has reached out to local landowners to provide information on our response efforts in their area.
Additional updates will be posted to the Colonial website at https://sr2448.colonialresponse.com as new information becomes available. All future notices regarding this situation will be posted to this site.
About Colonial Pipeline: Colonial Pipeline Company, founded in 1962, connects refineries – primarily located in the Gulf Coast – with customers and markets throughout the Southern and Eastern United States through a pipeline system that spans more than 5,500 miles. The company delivers refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, home heating oil, and fuel for the U.S. Military. Colonial is committed to safety and environmental stewardship across its operations. More information about Colonial is available at www.colpipe.com.
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