CORRECTION: More than 250K gallons of gasoline spilled in Doa Ana County
A gasoline spill in Southern New Mexico has been contained a week after 12 inch pipe burst, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) announced Friday.
The Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline, which runs from El Paso, Texas to Tucson, Arizona, burst near Chamberino, New Mexico on Friday, December 14, 2018.
The NMED, said in a news release approximately 252,000 gallons of gasoline were released near Three Saints Road in Doña Ana County, New Mexico from a pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan.
As of Wednesday, December 19, 2018, approximately 168,000 gallons of gasoline have been recovered, the NMED said.
“While no active waterways were affected, the Rio Grande is approximately one mile away from the site,” the NMED said.
The NMED said the gasoline spilled into a 2,200 foot section of a 10-foot deep, idle irrigation ditch. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.
The cause of the spill is under investigation. The NMED’s Ground Water Quality Bureau is handling remediation oversight, the news release said.
The NMED is also sampling nearby domestic and irrigation wells. Test results are not yet available. They encourage the public to avoid the area until surface remedial efforts are completed.
