Guardian Report: Gasoline, diesel leaks in pursuit of Valley’s quality improvement

Agency Report: Petroleum, diesel spills in Valley raise questions about long-term solutions

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Heavy rains earlier this week caused damage in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties, but not just from flooding, but the resulting leaks.

In Lordstown, Jim McCauley saw an oil sheen in the creek that runs behind his home on S. Leavitt Road, near Palmyra Road.

“The creek was high after all the rain, I looked in and there was this ugly film on it and debris sitting all over the place.”, he said.

McCauley owns chickens and shared his concerns for his livestock and others who live nearby, but added the Lordstown Fire Department and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency responded quickly.

Lordstown Fire Chief Travis Eastham says the fire department and EPA traced the product to storage ponds on property owned by the Ohio Business Center.

The EPA gave News 21 this statement saying:

“The Ohio EPA was notified April 2 by the local fire department of a diesel fuel release affecting a waterway near South Leavitt Road in Lordstown. The source of the release was confirmed to be from the property of Spirongo Lordstown LLC/Ohio Commerce Center. An estimated 500 gallons of diesel fuel were released and collected in the sewer and containment area. Recent rains pushed some of the diesel into a nearby stream, although most of the oil released was contained to the area.

Vacuum trucks recovered approximately 7,000 gallons of the water/diesel mixture and will transport it for proper disposal. The facility is now undergoing maintenance cleaning operations.

There has been no impact on drinking water or nearby wildlife. A notice of violation was issued to Spirongo Lordstown LLC for the unauthorized discharge of diesel fuel into state waters.”

Spirongo Lordstown LLC owns the Ohio Business Center.

On the west side of Youngstown, this abandoned property on Bears Den Road, which used to be a gas station, was the culprit of a gasoline leak on Tuesday.

Fire Chief Barry Finley says one underground storage tank corroded, allowing rainwater to fill it and spill gasoline all over the area. The EPA shut down, and a cleanup company was hired to help.

Finley says it’s too big a problem for his department to deal with and that there are other underground storage tanks throughout the city.

Debora Flora with the Land Bank of Mahoning County says the state’s brownfields program opened the door for funding to remove such underground storage tanks, but the company has not reached out to them to file an application.

According to the state auditor’s website–Bismillah Group USA bought the property in 2010, but owes about $20,990.64 in property taxes. 21 The news reached them but they did not listen.