'No Definite Timeline'

Three years after a diesel fuel line ruptured near railroad tracks west of Plant City, contaminating a dozen residential and commercial properties, the cleanup is still under way.

The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission reported last month that remnants of the 37,800 gallons of spilled fuel were being recovered from the area. URS Corp., a consulting company for Central Florida Pipeline, the company that delivers diesel to vendors along the CSX rail line, reported that more than 15,000 tons of contaminated soil had been removed from the small neighborhood at State Road 574 and Wilkinson Drive.

The pipeline ruptured one night in 2005, spraying fuel over homes and a small business.

Central Florida Pipeline Co. owns and operates a refined petroleum products pipeline system that includes the 10-inch pipeline that was carrying diesel when it broke. Another 16-inch pipe on the same site that carries gasoline did not rupture. The pipeline system, in operation since 1965, transports fuel from Tampa to Orlando, largely on CSX rights of way.

Kinder Morgan, the parent company of Central Florida Pipeline, has spent $8 million on the cleanup and anticipates spending $2 million more.

The vast majority of the fuel has been recovered, said Noel Morera, a professional engineer at the EPC in Tampa.

In the latest phase of the cleanup, chemicals are being injected into the ground to dissipate the remaining fuel.

Neighbors say they endure the sounds of crews pounding pipes into the ground by day and the smell of chemical vapors at night.

Chemical injection at the site began at the end of February, Morera said. The chemical reacts with the diesel residue and turns it into a gas that dissipates, he said.

Resident Desiree Boyd said the cleanup is aggravating.

"I hear the pounding that goes on during the day. The earth vibrates with every blow. And then at night I get allergies like crazy. They are messing me up," Boyd said.

Linda Harper, another Wilkinson Drive resident, recalls when the line broke about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, 2005.

"We heard the roar like a water line had ruptured," Harper said. "I thought a fire hydrant had been hit by a car and broken off. My elementary school-aged son went outside to investigate and came back covered in oil. It shot up in the air, over the tracks, over a small office building and covered the house and the entire yard of the people who live just east of my house."

The break in the high-pressure pipeline about 3 feet below ground level sprayed diesel across a cone-shaped area about 300 feet long and 300 feet wide.

Joe Hollier, a spokesman for Kinder Morgan, said the pipe was originally damaged by another company. The damage went unnoticed.

"I believe it happened some years ago while installing fiber-optic cable," Hollier said. "Ultimately, it caused the pipe to fail. Pipeline breaks are extremely rare."

Hollier said third-party digging is the most common cause of pipeline incidents. "That's why we tell people to call before you dig."

The neighborhood of about 25 homes was evacuated by Hillsborough County firefighters and deputies after the rupture.

"They wouldn't even let us take our cars," Harper said. "They were afraid that a spark from the engine might ignite the whole neighborhood. We had to walk down to a gas station that wasn't even open to make a phone call."

Harper and her neighbors were allowed to return home about two days later except for Stan Reynolds, whose house was covered with diesel. So much fuel was on his property that his yard had to be excavated to a depth of about 12 feet. An in-ground pool was removed, and the house was given a full-blown makeover, including a new roof, underground sprinkler system, landscaping and a new driveway.

Reynolds sold his home and the 1.3 acres it sits on to Central Florida Pipeline in 2006. The house remains vacant, and Reynolds won't say how much he received, although Hillsborough County property records show the sales price as $250,000. Part of Reynolds' settlement gives Reynolds the option to repurchase the house from the company.

"I can't talk too much about the settlement," Reynolds said. "But I can tell you I wasn't the only property owner in the neighborhood to sign one."

Reynolds said that at least six property owners living around his property also signed settlement agreements with Central Florida Pipeline.

The Harpers, who have owned property there since 1992, were among those who signed an agreement with the pipeline company, Linda Harper said.

"I can't talk about the money," Harper said. "But I can tell you the pipeline company put an osmosis water filtration system under my house to clean our well water. They also paid for a chlorinator and filter for our pool. Someone tests the groundwater every three months in my front yard. They say the water is clean, but I don't believe them."

Environmental Protection Commission records include quarterly reports that have been taken at the site of the spill since March 2006. The most recent sample from June said no liquid fuel was detected in the groundwater, the report said. A total of 650 gallons has been recovered from the groundwater since the first readings were made in 2006.

"There is no definite timeline for the cleanup to be completed," Morera said. "The company completing the task has certain standards to meet. Once they feel the site is clean, we monitor wells and take samples to document if standards have been met."

The EPC did not levy a fine, Morera said.

"The company is doing all they can to correct what damages have been done," he said. "They have done everything expected of them."

Morera said he didn't know how long that would take, but "sometimes these things go on for years."