100 gallons of crude oil leak in Sterling Heights

The city of Sterling Heights is responding to a leak of about 100 gallons of crude oil in the area of 18 Mile and Mound roads.

The oil leaked from a 16-inch pipe that carries oil throughout the city, but there is no danger to homes or residents in the area, officials said in a press release this afternoon. The leak has impacted a parking lot and Mound Road. The leak is located near a gas station in the area but unrelated to its operations.

Multiple response and cleanup crews are on scene working to contain the release and prevent oil from entering city and county storm drains, officials said. A Roseville company was among the responders.

City spokeswoman Marisa Russo said responders indicated the leak will be fixed by Saturday and the clean-up by Sunday.

Two northbound lanes of Mound were shut down for the clean-up.

County and state agencies have been notified and are coordinating as part of the response.

“Our concern is water quality, so we’re obviously relieved that no oil got into the Plumbrook Drain,” Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said a written statement. “The emergency response protocol worked perfectly. We applaud Sterling Heights Fire, Police, DPW and all agencies that responded so quickly,”

Though the pipeline operator has turned off pressure to the line, some residual pressure remained, officials said.

Cleanup and remediation efforts were underway before 1 p.m. Friday, along with efforts to identify and repair the source of the leak, according to officials.