HILLSBOROUGH: Route 206 gasoline pipeline leak fixed for now

   Buckeye Pipe Line Company has completed a temporary repair sleeve on a section of its pipeline system under Route 206 near New Amwell Road and resumed pumping gasoline through it.
   A company spokesman said Buckeye will be back in the first quarter of 2013 to make a permanent repair.
   ”We’ve been working there about 10 days now, and we decided the community needs a break,” especially as the holiday approaches, said spokesman David Boone.
   Residents who smelled gasoline emanating from the storm sewer system led to the search for a leak on the weekend of Dec. 8-9.
   The failure point in the casing under the highway was on the east side of the road, about five feet from the shoulder, Mr. Boone said.
   After testing the integrity of the system, Buckeye personnel safely restarted the pipeline system at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, the company said. The company resumed pumping about 140,000 gallons of gasoline per day.
   Crews continue to work to assess and remediate the environmental impact. To date, test results have not indicated any risk to the public, Mr. Boone said. The latest estimate was that 55 barrels (which equals about 2,400 gallons) of gasoline leaked, with most of the soil removed. Soil borings will continue to be monitored around the site to measure any migration of contamination.
   Mr. Boone said the permanent repair would likely not require an open trench, but hopefully could be done within the existing casing or drilling horizontally for a new one.
   The company said it thanked local residents and businesses for their patience and understanding during the repair and remediation. Mr. Boone said the company recognized there has been impact on businesses in the immediate area “and we’ll certainly take care of damages,” he said.
   He had words of praise for safety personnel.
   ”Their professionalism and support was just remarkable and they deserve a lot of credit,” Mr. Boone said. “The township of Hillsborough is in good hands with the Office of Emergency Management, volunteer fire company and police department. The guys did a great job.”