Cleanup of an oil spill that contaminated one of Calhoun’s creeks Thursday is now well under-way.

Deputy Chief Terry Mills, of the Calhoun Fire Department, said Friday morning that the spilled liquid, which came from an abandoned underground tank near a building on McConnell Road, contains No. 1 diesel fuel, fuel oil and “lite” mineral oil.

The pollutant has been contained just 75 yards from where the creek joins the Oostanaula River, .9 miles from the spill’s point of origin, Mills stated.

“We just caught it before it got into a major waterway,” he said.

Fire department and other emergency personnel had to cut a path through thick undergrowth and then crawl in to the site, initially, he said. By Friday morning, makeshift roads had been constructed, and trucks and equipment were stationed near the creek, siphoning oil out of it.

Crews from Marion Environmental, the company the city has recruited for cleanup, had worked through the previous night, skimming and oil from along the waterway, he said.

Oil is lighter than water, Mills explained, so the contaminant is essentially resting on top of the creek water. Booms and “product curtains” are in place at several intervals along the creek and are functioning as containers for the oil.

The forecasted rain that originally concerned emergency officials may actually help the situation, according to Mills. It may serve as a way to wash more of the pollutant downstream to be captured by the booms and curtains.

The fire department may also add water to the creek in order to speed up the washing process, he said. Any of the oil that comes downstream at that point will be captured and “reclaimed,” he explained.

Safety booms will remain in place, especially near the mouth of the creek where it joins the Oostanaula, in order to provide protection in the event of future rains.

Although Mills said he could not pin down a set timeframe for cleanup, he estimated the initial process will go on for “some time,” two to three weeks, at least. He said monitoring will continue after that.

Mills said the city has worked with Dalton-based Marion Environmental before and that Georgia Environmental Protection Division officials were pleased with this choice when they arrived on scene Thursday.

“We’re doing everything we can do,” he said.

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By Lydia Senn

The Calhoun Fire Department was called to the scene of an oil spill early this afternoon.

According to Emergency Management Director, Richard Cooper:

A water pipe inside American Home Inc. on McConnell Road froze during the recent cold weather, the pipe then burst, pushing all of the water into a fuel tank below the building.

“We think it was fuel used for heating,” said Cooper.

The fuel was then pushed into a storm drain on McConnell Road, the drain leads to a creek which feeds into the Oostaunala River.

“We are trying to prevent the oil from reaching the river,” Cooper said.

The tank would hold an estimate 5,000 – 6,000 gallons but Cooper said officials are unsure of the amount of fuel actually inside the tank.



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The spill was reported at around 1:45 p.m. and members of both the Calhoun Fire Department and the Gordon County Fire Department were on the seen within minutes. The Calhoun Fire Department, which is leading the containment efforts, has placed absorbent booms inside the drain to prevent the oil from reaching the water way.

The Calhoun FD is attempting to prevent the oil from moving any further toward the creek. Cooper said that Marion Environmental in Resaca was being called in to clean up and prevent further contamination.

“We are trying to stop any more movement before the rain comes in,” Cooper said.

Should rain fall it would increase the pace at which the spill would move.

Cooper also said the Environmental Protection Division had been notified of the spill.

EPD Public Information Officer, Kevin Chambers said while he could not speculate as to what affect the spill could have on the river he did say that most of the rivers in the area are high and that would alleviate potential devastation.

“That means dilution,” Chambers said.

McConnell Road will be blocked off until the spill can be contained, Cooper said.