MEMA: Up To Ten Thousand Gallons of Gas Leaked From Gas Station

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Up to 10 thousand gallons of gas, that’s how much the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said had leaked from tanks at a Starkville Gas station.

The agency said fuel was leaking for two-and-a-half weeks from a line at the Sprint Mart on the corner of Twelfth and Airport Road.

There are, of course, environmental concerns because much of the fuel ended up in a nearby creek. But a member of the state emergency response team said their priority is avoiding an explosion.

Only premium was for sale at the Starkville Sprint Mart.

A spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management agency said up to 10-thousand gallons of gas, is not in the storage tanks but bubbling up to the surface.

Brad Radcliff is a member of the state’s emergency response team, and said you can see and smell the fuel that leaked into the nearby ditch.

“If it’s in the middle of the daytime, it’s 95 degrees and it starts gassing off, then you’ve got an explosive element,” Radcliff said.

A manager for Sprint Mart said Dutch Oil owns the tanks, and fixed the leak yesterday. She said they check the tanks on a regular basis, and called this leak “small.”

“For a small leak to empty out ten thousand gallons, no it was more than just a small leak,” Customer Antionay Williams.

In addition to diluting the fuel, Radcliff said they’re building a small dam in the ditch, to keep the fuel from spreading if we get more rain.

“That will keep the product in place, by letting the water pass through the underflow and keeping it on this side,” Radcliff said.

“I just hope they can get this under control, find a solution really quick,” Williams said.

We reached out to Dutch Oil, but were unable to reach anyone as they had already closed for the day.

Radcliff said the company is cooperating with the state to mitigate damages.