News Release 573

DEPARTMENT ASSISTS IN TRANSFORMER OIL CLEANUP
FROM PERCHE CREEK

Volume 35-573

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 6, 2007 – Staff from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources began a cleanup this morning of oil that had leaked from electrical transformers dumped in Perche Creek near Hinton in Boone County.

Members of the department’s Environmental Emergency Response section deployed absorbent booms and cleanup pads to the creek after it became apparent during the effort to remove the transformers from the creek that at least enough oil had leaked from them to cause a sheen on the water surface.

The department’s Northeast Regional Office, Macon, received a report Wednesday afternoon of five transformers in the creek near the bridge on Akeman Bridge Road near Hinton, north of Columbia. An investigation by regional office staff and an Environmental Emergency Response state on-scene coordinator determined that the transformers belonged to Centralia Power and Light.

Once contacted, utility officials discovered that the transformers had been taken from their storage area. Crews from the utility were removing the transformers from the creek this morning when the oily sheen was noticed.

The department’s Environmental Emergency Response is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department’s 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact the spill line at 573-634-2436. For more information contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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