Paullina, Iowa — A pipeline was struck on Wednesday evening near Paullina.
O’Brien County Emergency Management Director Jared Johnson says that the incident occurred shortly after 5:15 p.m. He says the Paullina Fire Department was paged out for a pipeline that had ruptured near Roosevelt Avenue and Highway 10 (460th Street), east of Paullina. He says when they got there, first responders noted that a contractor had been working in the field north of Highway 10 and had struck the ONEOK pipeline, which had been transporting diesel fuel.
Johnson says diesel was released into the ground and moved along drainage tile to the ditch along Highway 10. He says workers on-scene initiated mitigation measures to contain the spill. He says ONEOK responders arrived quickly at the incident location to assess the damage and assist with their hazmat response resources.
Notifications to report the spill were made to the Iowa DNR, EPA, and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
He says multiple agencies have responded to this incident to assist, including: Paullina Fire, Granville Fire, O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, O’Brien County Secondary Roads, O’Brien County Emergency Management, Iowa DOT, Iowa DNR, and ONEOK response resources.
Johnson says there will be increased traffic in this area over the next several days. You are asked to watch out for turning traffic near Highway 10 and Roosevelt Avenue. He says that based on information that emergency management and responders have received on Thursday, clean-up work in this area is expected to continue through early next week. He says they greatly appreciate all of the agencies and departments that have assisted with the response to this incident.
ONEOK company officials released a statement about the incident:
“On April 8, a pipeline transporting diesel near Paullina, Iowa was damaged by a third-party excavator. Employees quickly isolated the affected pipeline segment. We are coordinating with local emergency responders and have notified the appropriate regulatory agencies. We are grateful for the quick response of local authorities. Safety is a core value at ONEOK and will guide every decision we make in responding to this event.”
Drone photo by EMA Director Jared Johnson
