Boneyard Creek Spill and Cleanup

There was a hazardous material spill in the Boneyard Creek a couple weeks ago that was very quickly noticed and cleaned up. The contractor for the cleanup was released by the Illinois EPA on the afternoon of April 18th. All that remains is an absorbent boom to catch any potential residual materials. That will likely be collected this week according to the Champaign Fire Department today. WCCU had some initial coverage with photos and a video of the spill here. WCIA's initial blurb and update are available here with a video segment. WCIA had more details the next day here:

Crews say the diesel fuel spill into the Boneyard Creek came from a different source than originally thought.

Fire crews responded to a spill at the creek Monday afternoon. They originally thought it started at a construction site in Champaign where crews hit an abandoned tank.

They later found out that it came from a fuel oil tank in the basement of a building near Sixth and Daniel St. Officials say the oil began leaking into a floor drain believed to tie into the storm sewer.

The owner of the building has hired a hazardous material contractor. With the help of IEPA they started mitigation of the spill this afternoon.

WCCU had the latest update before today here:

Boneyard Creek declared safe after chemical spill
...
For days, crews have been cleaning up the Boneyard Creek in Champaign-Urbana...

The Urbana Fire Chief Chuck Lauss said most of the spill has been cleaned up and there isn't any danger to the public...

At the time of the leak, crews put absorbent booms in the water and quickly contacted the local wastewater treatment plant and the IEPA...

The chief said the water should be cleaned up in a couple of days with the spill traveling less than a mile.

Crews are currently using vacuum trucks to suck up the chemicals...

The spill started near Sixth Street and made its way toward Gregory Street.

That article and segment available here. Latest update, including contacts for further information, on the City of Champaign website here.