Plains pump station leaks crude near St. Louis

OREANDA-NEWS. July 13, 2015 A leak this morning at a Plains All American pump station near St. Louis. Missouri, spilled about 100 bls of crude.

The release came from a small-diameter pipeline fitting within the Pocahontas pump station near the border of Bond and Madison counties in Illinois, about 40 miles from St. Louis, the company said.

The flow of oil has been stopped, but some of the crude reached a nearby creek. Plains initiated its emergency response plan and personnel are working with first responders and others to contain the release. Work crews are on site and have deployed containment booms in nearby waterways.

"The current priorities are to ensure the safety of all involved and limit the environmental impact from the release," the company said.

The Pocahontas pump station is part of the Capwood pipeline that runs from Plains' Patoka station to Wood River, Illinois.

The incident follows a 19 May pipeline rupture of a Plains pipeline in Santa Barbara county, California, which spilled up to 2,500 bl of crude into the Pacific ocean.

That pipeline — Line 901 — has been out of service since the spill and no timeline has been set for the line's restart.