An August 13th incident involving the accidental discharge of non-toxic - likely soybean, canola, or both - oil contaminated roughly two miles of the lower Grand River’s arguably best steelhead fishing section.
The Ohio EPA said on August 16th that the amount of non-toxic oil released into the Grand River was 400 to 500 gallons, “while another 1,000 to 2,000 gallons were discharged onto the ground and recovered at the facility.”
Originally, the company said only between 30 and 40 gallons of material had entered the stream.
The discharge originated from the Erie International Group’s Painesville Township plant located at 679 Hardy Road. This section parallels Fairport-Nursery Road (Ohio Route 535) and is book-ended by Hardy Road and the St. Clair Street bridge in Fairport Harbor Village.
Within this section are the fabled steelhead-fishing hotspots locally referred to as the “Uniroyal Hole” and the “Pipe Bridge Hole.”
Erie International self-reported the incident to authorities at around 6:30 p.m., August 13th. The company’s web site bills itself as “...a ‘green’ company that develops and manufacturers natural animal feed ingredients and specialty chemicals from renewable raw materials.”
The firm is a part of what’s called the “oleochemical” industry. This rapidly rising market is involved in the manufacture of materials used to help make everything from inks to soap and cosmetic products to lubricants.
There has been some concern expressed, however, that the oleochemical industry must strive better to prevent and contain accidental spills.
As for the Erie International incident specifics, the non-toxic contaminant entered the stream from the plant via a large pipe that lies underneath Fairport-Nursery Road.
The plant draws water from Lake Erie to cool the plant’s heat exchangers. In turn, these heat exchangers cool whatever oil is being processed for further refinement.
“During a cleaning operation, a pump was left on and overflowed a wastewater retention pond, spilling into a ditch, which flowed into a storm drain, and ultimately flowed into the Grand River,” said Anthony Chenault, the Ohio EPA Media Coordinator for the agency’s Northeast, Central and Southeast districts
Bob Foster, managing director of the Chicago-based Pullman Global Corporation which owns Erie International, said his company had “actually begun work on a project three months ago to update the system which is pretty old.”
“We were trying to stay ahead of the curve but obviously we were not far enough ahead. It just looks bad, but the oil goes into products that consumers uses every day,” Foster said.
Responding to the incident were various local agencies. Among them were fire departments with Fairport Harbor Village and Painesville Township along with both the state and federal Environmental Protection agencies, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and others.
Likewise contributing was the Lake County Hazardous Intervention Team. This team employed at least one containment boom provided by the nearby Lubrizol Corporation.
This floating boom was placed across the Grand River at Lake Metroparks’ Grand River Landing, located immediately below the St. Clair Street Bridge.
A second boom was also installed following the escape of some of the material after an August 14th mild rainfall.
On August 15th, siphoning of the material was instituted as the Grand River’s current carried the contaminate to the booms where a skimmer and vacuum could extract the contaminant.
On hand to perform the work was Spill Tek Environmental Services of Vermilion. The effort was expected to take several days to complete, said Ohio EPA spokesman, James Lee.
Ohio Division of Wildlife’s executive director, Brian Banbury, also told “Ohio Outdoor News that “no fish or wildlife were affected, but that the agency continues to monitor the situation.
Experiencing the incident first-hand was angler Rob Peavy of Painesville.
Unaware of what was happening the morning of August 14th, Peavy had launched his canoe about three miles upstream at Painesville City’s Kiwanis Recreation Park.
His intention was to fish the Grand River and take out at the Lake Metropark Grand River Landing site.
Peavy said he and a companion stopped fishing once they reached a point at the stream’s Uniroyal Hole where the culvert pipe had discharged the material.
“There was still some material coming out,” Peavy said, who added that he caught one catfish and one bowfin where the contaminant was entering the Grand River.
And when Peavy did remove his canoe from the stream at the Grand River Landing, the vessel had a residual film of whitish, oily substance at its waterline.
Heidi Griesmer, The Ohio EPA’s Deputy Director for Communications, told “Ohio Outdoor News,” that the Erie International Group will be footing the bill for clean-up efforts along with other, possible, costs or remediation – if any.
- By Jeffrey L. FrischkornJFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
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