Above ground tank leaks into lake

Vernon — A Highland Lakes family is dealing with a cleanup after an above ground oil tank leaked into the lake on Dec. 9. According to a report from the County Sheriff’s office, oil went into footing drains and sump pump, which in turn discharges into a storm drain at the front of the property on Lakeside Drive West. The drain outflow travels under the road and into a ditch that discharges into the lake. James McDonald from the Sussex county health department says containment containers were placed at a creek and on the lake to absorb the oil. McDonald is Chief Registered Environmental Health Specialist with the health department. According to the incident report the initial call came in at about 4 p.m. Three rows of containers were placed at the lake’s outflow and absorbent pads needed to be changed at least once because they were saturated. A contractor arrived at 7:15 p.m. to vacuum from the sump pump in the home’s crawl space. There was too much work to be completed that night and representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection requested a state contractor to do some additional work. McDonald says the homeowners Eric and Tamara Zanetti had just had an oil delivery four days prior to the spill and when “haz-mat” officials responded, the tank was pretty much empty. He says an estimated 250 gallons of oil went into the lake. Just two inches of oil remained in the tank after the spill. The county covered costs for the initial response to clean up the spill, but the homeowners are obliged to pay for a private contractor to finish the job. The state health department is monitoring the cleanup to make sure that the homeowner complies.