Potomac River Contaminated as Fuel Pipe Breaks

A pipeline break near this Washington suburb dumped more than 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel into a stream flowing through a wildlife-rich area Sunday and contaminated the Potomac River.

About 336,000 gallons of the fuel spewed from the pipe, and about a third of that went into Sugarland Run, a creek that feeds into the Potomac above a major water treatment plant, officials said.

The spill was discovered by a police officer who saw fuel bubbling up from the ground. It was traced to a break in a 36-inch pipeline owned by Colonial Pipeline Co. of Atlanta.

The fuel formed a thick, white froth atop the creek where it flows through a 58-acre nature park here. In some areas of the park, a thick mist from the spill made the air nearly unbreathable.

Town councilman John DeNoyer said the park is feeding ground for 116 species of birds as well as deer, beaver, foxes and other wildlife.

Emergency crews set up booms in Sugarland Run and the Potomac, retarding the flow but not containing it entirely. Vacuums were used to suck some fuel from the top of the creek, officials said.

The water treatment plant was closed shortly Sunday night when the spill reached the Potomac.