BY CHARLEE BEASOR
BROWNSBURG — All it took was Indiana State Police officer Ron Lowe to spot a yellowish-green substance floating in White Lick Creek.
Lowe notified Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC because he knew there were pipelines that ran through that area belonging to the company. About 35 minutes later, crews were on scene taking samples and testing the air for fumes before beginning their clean up action.
The “spill,” however, was just the result of dye packs that had been placed along the creek around Maloney Road and State Road 267 last week. Lowe served as the sounding alarm for the annual mock disaster training exercise for Marathon Ashland Pipe Line.
“It was a pretty fluorescent green substance near the bridge (at Maloney Road and S.R. 267),” Lowe said as part of the exercise. “It was pretty bright, probably an oil or petroleum substance.”
Paul Strychalski, an operations technician with Marathon Ashland Pipe Line, set up the mock disaster and was the only one of the responders who knew details as to when and where it would happen.
“Emergency preparedness helps us practice it and keeps us from knowing the details,” Katie Zalat, Clermont area manager for Marathon Ashland, said. “If it’s 2 a.m., it’s dark and we’re not seeing good. This is one of our worst case scenarios, with the houses and traffic. But it’s part of our tactical response plan.”
Once the spill was reported around 8 a.m., a team of operations technicians, electricians, and managers had assembled in front of the Highland Green subdivision along S.R. 267 to deal with the situation.
“We have two lines, one at (C.R.) 900 North and one that goes under Maloney Road,” Strychalski said. “Sometimes a contractor is careless with a bucket and (strikes a pipeline), and the result may not be seen for months or years later. And sometimes it’s the way the pipe was formed, and the pressure increases and decreases and is eventually going to break.”
Strychalski said pressure in their lines is monitored 24/7 and if a great release of pressure had happened anywhere along the lines, they would have been notified as part of the response.
He also said that because the substance or product was the yellow-green color, they had an idea that it was fuel oil.
“Fuel oil is generally safer,” he said. “Gas is sometimes lighter or clear in color.”
The roads would have normally been closed in the situation, to ensure that no engine would ignite fumes and cause an explosion. The crew also has air monitors and watch those closely when there’s a spill.
Strychalski said the local fire department, police department, and possibly the sheriff’s department would also be involved.
“Local folks help a whole bunch in cases like this,” he said. “There are all kinds of issues that come into play.”
Once the spill is located, the clean up begins, which includes using skirted booms to help direct the product to where a vacuum truck can suck it up off the water.
Strychalski said the training event was a success.
“It would be considered successful,” he said. “It was more close to a real-type situation. The response times were really realistic and I think it was an overall success, better than in years past.”
He said the use of the dye packs made the incident more realistic, since there was actually something to see in the water. He said the dye dissipates naturally after 24 to 48 hours in the water.
“You can pretend, but if you actually can see something, it makes you think, ‘OK, I’ve gotta respond a little bit differently and concentrate over here more than there,’” he said.
The Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC office is at 9322 W. 30th St., Clermont. To contact the company, call 291-9460.
charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com
