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Columbia Gas is replacing gas lines in the Clintonville area (as part of a larger project covering much of central Ohio). Last week (Wednesday, January 25) a pedestrian walking through Walhalla Ravine noticed that the normally clear water in creek had turned to a milky-white color; she alerted folks via a mailing list and thus ended up mobilizing a quick response.
It turns out that source of the discoloration was the effluent of Columbia Gas's pipe replacement project. They were (illegally) dumping the output from their drilling process into the street, which drained into Walhalla Creek. They also had experienced a "blow-out" that they hadn't noticed (their drilling fluid, instead of being returned to the drilling machine, was leaking out of a fracture in the earth and flowing into the creek -- had they been paying attention to the volume of fluid returned, they would have noticed a mismatch and may have decided to stop to assess the situation). When first confronted, their workers' response was that it was perfectly legal to dispose of their drilling waste into the "storm sewer". As soon as the Ohio EPA emergency response coordinator and inspector from Columbus's Sediment & Erosion Protection Program arrived, they made it clear to Columbia Gas and their contractors that they couldn't just dump waste into the stream (or the storm sewer, for that matter -- since all storm drains dump directly to a waterway without treatment). They'll have to use filters and dams to contain the sediment.
You can see the pictures of the discharge at http://walhallaravine.org/discharge (or google docs at http://bit.ly/ColumbiaGoo )
Columbia Gas and their contractor (Northern Pipeline) have each been issued a Notice of Violation. In Columbia's case, this is the second such notice they've received in several weeks--as such, they were fined $1000 for their illegal discharge. You can read Columbia's NOV at http://bit.ly/CGfine; Northern Pipeline's NOV is at http://bit.ly/NPLcitation
The takeaways from this:
- Be on the lookout for anyone dumping or pumping something into a storm sewer, ditch, drain, or waterway. If you see such a thing, take pictures with your cell phone and send them to 311@columbus.gov (or call 311 and report what you saw).
- When Columbia Gas comes to your neighborhood to do their work, be sure to attend their information meetings and ask how they plan to protect the environment in your neighborhood. Be sure to ask what the plans are if something goes wrong.
- Don't assume that someone with a hardhat and laminated badge knows whether or not what they're doing is harmful or legal. If you suspect something isn't quite right, make a call or send email to someone. The Ohio EPA has a waterway contamination hotline; it takes about a minute to give them enough detail so that they can send someone out to take a look (and they'd rather have you call about something that turns out to be OK than to not call about a disaster that could have been averted).
Ohio EPA Waterway Contamination Hotline: +1 (800) 282-9378
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moo!
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.