Wells Run Hit With Oil Contamination

The scent on Tuesday afternoon in the air along Wells Run stream was not that of wildflowers or mosses growing on rocks but that of gasoline.

It may be due to the roadwork along Adelphi Road, but some of it can be attributed to the oil that spilled into the creek over the weekend.

For most of Monday and Tuesday afternoon, a small crew from Marcor Environmental, a private company tasked to clean up the spill, could be seen in white uniforms placing oil-absorbent sheets into Wells Run.

Wells Run is a narrow tributary of the Anacostia River starting underground in Hyattsville near Northwestern High School and flowing into the Northeast Branch in Riverdale Park.

University Park resident Tom Stickles, who also serves as the chair of the Wells Run committee, said the problem was first reported by a fellow resident Sunday morning at around 7:30 a.m.

"I came out and took samples of the water," Stickles said, but he did not find any oil, although a gasoline-like smell was in the air.

Although the state hazmat authorities were notified of a possible leak Sunday, he said, it wasn't until Monday morning that they determined that diesel fuel had leaked into the stream through a storm drain. Booms, or blockades, were placed in the creek as well as oil absorbent sheets, Stickles said, and the Maryland Department of the Environment was notified.

Jay Apperson, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said Tuesday that the source of the spill was identified as The Mall at Prince Georges. The diesel fuel was heating oil.

Apperson said the mall management hired Marcor Environmental to clean up the mess.

Victoria Clark, marketing director of the mall, said the Mall at Prince Georges is collecting information about what occurred and is cooperating with the Environmental Protection Agency as it conducts its investigation.

"The most important thing right now is that the EPA Remediation Team arrived last night and immediately commenced with clean-up procedures for what appears to be a small amount of residual oil being pushed out of an underground tank by a large quantity of water," Clark said.

"While the amount of the oil leaking is not significant, an environmental agency is on site and continuing to contain the oil. There is no danger to nearby residents, shoppers or mall employees, and the leak is not hazardous to the downstream environment."

She added that the mall cannot speculate about what happened or who was involved, but she said that as soon as they have more information, it will be reported.

Apperson said the investigation is still continuing, as they try to pinpoint how the heating oil ended up in the creek. Enforcement action could be taken once the cause is determined.

Mickey Beall, the director of public works for University Park, said the town's first priority is to clean up any mess.

Beall said it is unknown how much this spill could cost the town.

Stickles spent Tuesday watching the clean up.

As the chair of the Wells Run committee, he said the group has avoided problems up until now.

"We check the creek every day," Stickles said. "I walk the stream and look for trash, empty the trash trap and look for life around the stream."

He said the stream had rebounded in 2008, following heavy construction at The University Town Center and Northwestern High School, and his largest concern is more development upstream.

"With new projects in the planning process upstream, it's hard to tell how the creek might be affected," Stickles said. "We must make sure the projects are properly monitored to ensure the protection of the environment."

University Park's and Riverdale Park's governments created a memorandum of understanding to share responsibility of the stream. Although the MOU was discussed at  Hyattsville's meeting, last night the council decided to defer a formal discussion about the MOU for six months.