A massive cleanup effort is underway after a pipeline ruptured causing more than 300,000 gallons of low sulfur diesel fuel to spill just outside of New Orleans last month.
The incident occurred on December 27 on a 16-inch diesel pipeline located at the Chalmette Refinery, just east of New Orleans, in St. Bernard Parish, according to federal documents from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
is charged with oversight for pipeline safety in the United StatesOfficials say the owner of the line, Collins Pipeline Company, shut down the Meraux Pipeline on the morning of the 27 after reportedly observing pressure gauges and flow meter measurements that indicated there was a leak, documents stated. Later that same day, the pipeline company visually confirmed that the line had ruptured, resulting in a release of low sulfur diesel that surfaced near a levee wall in St. Bernard Parish.