NEW MADRID - Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agency crews continued their clean-up today of gasoline seeping from the Mississippi River levee.
Furg Hunter, New Madrid city administrator, said he received calls late Saturday and early Sunday from residents along Line and Water streets reporting an odor of gasoline.
Investigating officials discovered gasoline on the riverside of the levee near Sinclair Oil Co. "Apparently as the water was receding, the gasoline had seeped out of the soil causing quite and odor," said Hunter.
Department of Natural Resources officials arrived on the scene at 3 a.m. Sunday and began their investigation, confirming the find of gasoline seepage. Other officials were notified, Hunter said, with recovery and cleanup crews arriving Sunday to begin the containment and clean-up. Their first task was to dissipate the odor, he added.
Once the clean-up is complete, then DNR and EPA officials will try to assess the exact source of the gasoline.
Hunter emphasized there is no danger to the citizens for the gasoline.