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Dangerous Treasure Hunt Turns Into Costly Fiasco

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By MIKE WELLS and KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

Updated: 11/14/2007 07:42 am

Video: Crews Still Fighting Ammonia Leak | Evacuees Review Options | Underground Pipes Cross Bay Area

More Information:
Bay Area's Multiple Pipelines Often Vulnerable
No River Damage Seen From Ammonia

Photo Gallery | Map Of The Area

RIVERVIEW - A trio of determined teens acting on a far-fetched story about cash hidden under a bridge has cost the county dearly.

Scores of families cannot go home, students are banished from three schools, commuters are late to work and businesses are closed along a stretch of U.S. 301 near the Alafia River.

It all started when a 16-year-old boy drilled into an ammonia pipeline at the river Monday night, unleashing a gas cloud that seriously burned him, caused emergency evacuations and closings and potentially harmed the environment. Damage to the pipeline itself, officials say, will be about $250,000.

Authorities said Tuesday night that the restrictions will continue for now:

•Riverview Elementary and two private schools, The Center Academy and Children's First Academy, will be closed again today.

•The Riverview Recreation Center, Riverview Civic Center and Riverview Branch Library will be closed.

•The evacuation radius, which includes hundreds of homes, remains the same.

•The pipeline has been capped on each end, but the pressure remains too high to seal the hole.

"It's being burned off as we speak, but it's a slow process," said Bruce Delk, a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is pursuing a criminal case against the teen and possibly against his two friends, officials said. The sheriff's office would not release their names.

By Tuesday afternoon, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews had contained the ammonia cloud but residents and business owners remained barred from returning to the a half-mile area just west of U.S. 301 and south of Riverview Drive.

"The mantra they've been working on is go slow and go safe," said Willie Puz, a Hillsborough County spokesman. The county will evaluate the evacuation and repair at 7 a.m. today.

The steel pipeline, which is mostly underground, is owned by Tampa Pipeline Corp. It stretches from near the Port of Tampa to Polk County, and is exposed when it crosses the river, traveling under the walkway of the bridge and then straight down into the south bank.

Rumor Spread About Hidden Cash

Three teenagers - two of them 16 and one 14 - went to the bridge at 5:30 p.m. Monday looking for money in or around the pipe under the bridge, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. They told authorities they had heard a rumor about hidden cash about a month ago from a 27-year-old woman, who said she had been told the tale by someone else.

One of 16-year-olds went to the bridge alone Sunday and tried to drill into the pipe but was unsuccessful. He returned Monday with his friends.

When he poked through the pipe and became badly burned by the escaping ammonia, he told his parents and was rushed to Tampa General Hospital.

He is being treated for serious burns to nearly 20 percent of his body, officials said. His last reported condition was critical but stable.

The drill used to break through the pipeline remains at the scene, as does a backpack and some clothing, sheriff's Lt. Kyle Cockream said.

Once the danger is eliminated, the area will be processed as a crime scene.

Despite the story the teens told about searching for hidden money, investigators are continuing to look into whether the incident is methamphetamine-related, as anhydrous ammonia is an ingredient used in making the drug, Cockream said.

Teen Repentant In Interview

On Tuesday, one of the teens apologized in an interview with WTVT, Channel 13, saying, "My friend is in the hospital, and I wish we hadn't done it."

The television station kept the boy's identity anonymous.

"A lot of people have had to miss parts of their normal day life because of what happened to the bridge," he told Fox 13. "I'm just sorry that we had done it."

The pipeline normally carries about 697,000 gallons a day. Tampa Pipeline President Robert Rose estimated damage will exceed $250,000.

"This is going to be hugely expensive," he said.

Rose said the company is sorry for the inconvenience to the community and pledged to reimburse law enforcement for some of its overtime cost.

Expert Called To Cap Pipe

A welding expert from Houston was flown in by the company to install a valve in the pipe on the southeast corner of the bridge to reduce the length of pipe filled with ammonia from miles to about 1,000 feet, officials said.

The company owns three ammonia pipelines, said manager Glenn Howell. Each originates from Port Sutton, on the eastern shore of McKay Bay. Most of the pipelines are underground, except for valve boxes and bridge crossings at U.S. 301 in Riverview and at 22nd Street in Tampa.

Heavy duty chains and locks have been placed on the valve boxes. Howell said the company hasn't yet discussed how to protect against vandalism at the bridge crossings.

"I'm sure we will come up with some means of protection," he said.

He said 11 people working at the rupture expected to temporarily patch the pipeline soon, and install an 18-inch long permanent replacement section by Thursday.

Riverview Elementary and two private schools, The Center Academy and Children's First Academy, remain closed. Both are within a quarter-mile of the leak.

Students who show up to Riverview will be taken by bus to Spoto High School instead, as they were Tuesday morning.

"Their teachers from Riverview Elementary were all here to greet them this morning," said Riverview Elementary Principal JoAnn Collings.

Collings said parents' concerns were "for the most part that their kid would be in a safe location with staff around them."

Environmental Damage Unclear

The extent of environmental damage from the leak is unknown, said Rick Garrity, director of the county's Environmental Protection Commission.

"Depending on concentrations, it can cause fish kills and damage to shoreline vegetation," Garrity said. "It's pretty caustic stuff."

The leak of ammonia into the Alafia River is not expected to affect the county's drinking water.

The incident is the largest of its kind since a man tapped an ammonia pipeline in July 2003 for use in making methamphetamine, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue division chief Craig Lynn. Crews worked 36 hours straight that time.

Several other agencies, including the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard and private contractors, are involved in the cleanup.

"This is a major deal for a little problem," Lynn said.

The mandatory shutdown of businesses south of Riverview Drive has owners suffering.

Jean Ann Leske, owner of Riverview Sandwich Shop at U.S. 301 and Riverview Drive, said she lost "at least a couple hundred" customers on Tuesday.

The family-owned restaurant opens at 6 a.m., and its staff of nine is losing out on the usual breakfast and lunch crowd, she said.

Others nearby businesses had few, if any, customers.

"Normally right now we'd be hopping," said Sherman Smith, owner of Multi-Gear Bike & Sport at 7825 U.S. 301 S. "But today we don't have any business. Everyone's just routing around us."

Reporters Chris Echegaray, Mark Holan, Josh Poltilove, Liz Bleau and Neil Johnson contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 394-7060 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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