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Oil spill pollutes Sligo
Creek
Investigators search for source
BY CRAIG STONE
A heating oil spill in Sligo
Creek near New Hampshire Avenue was contained as a result
of the combined efforts of the Montgomery County Fire Department
and the Maryland Department of the Environment on July 8.
Hazmat teams used containment booms and absorbent pads to
keep the oil from traveling to the Anacostia River, of which
Sligo Creek is a tributary.
Because oil does not mix with water and instead sits on top
of it, the substance evaporates "within a few days,"
said Richard McIntire, the chief of media, publications and
outreach for the Maryland Department of the Environment. He
said that the spill was contained enough that there shouldn’t
be any effect on the waterway.
Pete Piringer of the Montgomery County Fire Department said
that they traced the spill back to a storm drain on Maple
Avenue.
McIntire said that two heating oil tanks from high rises
in the area were tested and one from Parkview Towers at 7667
Maple Avenue failed inspection. The tank was emptied because
of the failed inspection. However, McIntire said that this
does not necessarily mean that the tank was the source of
the Sligo Creek spill, and the investigation continues.
The substance, which was originally thought to be gas but
was later determined to be home heating oil, was reported
as early as July 3. David Bates, a resident, said that he
was leaving for a 4th of July vacation with his family when
they smelled a "rather overwhelming" odor on Sligo
Creek Parkway near New Hampshire Avenue. Bates described the
smell as being like that of diesel fuel. He reported the smell
to authorities that day, but when he returned on July 9, he
said the smell was still there.
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