LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — Colonial Pipeline Company said that a pipeline leak on July 4 spilled an estimated 24,822 gallons of gasoline in the area of Sugarlimb Road in Loudon.
It said the leak was due to a valve failure and that it shut down Line 18 and removed the valve after finding the leak. It said repairs were completed within 24 hours and gasoline continued flowing through Line 18 at 8 p.m. on July 5.
The leak was located near the company's Sugarlimb Trap Site. It said the valve was replaced and it will investigate what could have specifically caused the leak. It said it would work with its regulators as needed during the investigation.
"At this time, Colonial and its partners are focused on response efforts. The safety of our employees and our community and the protection of the environment are our top priorities," the company said.
It said it were monitoring water and air quality around the Sugarlimb site to identify any possible impacts that the gasoline leak could have had. It also said it took measures to protect some of the closest waters, including the Hubbard Branch stream and the Tennessee River.
During the evening of July 11, it said it also found some of the substance around 8 feet outside the fence of its facility. Information about where that came from was not immediately available.
It said it installed underflow dams and temporary floating barriers usually used to contain spills in water. It also said it is sampling surface water and well water and will continue to sample water after "qualifying storm events."
On July 13, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said "there have not been any observed impacts to waterways."
It said more than 100 employees and contractors are responding to the spill, but heat and storms are affecting their response. It said it brought in cooling trailers and fans to help prevent workers from overheating while responding to the spill.
"Colonial will work with our regulators and industry partners to study this incident and determine the cause," it said. "We will take learnings from our investigations and implement measures in the future to help prevent an incident of this nature from happening again."
The company established a website about its response to the Loudon County spill. In it, it said it is working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Loudon County Emergency Management Agency. TDEC said it is providing technical oversight.
The pipeline transports gasoline and similar products from Atlanta to Knoxville.
Around a year ago, Colonial Pipeline was also hit by a major cyberattack that caused major disruptions to the regular supply chain of gasoline. The company delivers around 45% of fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard.