Violation notice issued to Lower Burrell steel plant for spill

The state Department of Environmental Protection plans to cite the operator of Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell following a hydraulic oil spill at the site this month.

DEP spokeswoman Lauren Camarda said the state agency has not determined yet whether any fines or other sanctions are warranted as its investigation continues.

Since hydraulic oil spilled into the Allegheny River at Braeburn on Feb. 3, Camarda said, crews have been at the site multiple times to monitor cleanup efforts.

“The facility’s environmental cleanup contractor vacuumed and installed booms and used absorbent material to recover oil,” Camarda said. “The contractor recovered hydraulic oil from an affected stormwater catch basin, at the outfall to the river, along the river bank, and containment area around the tank that leaked.”

DEP believes the spill was caused by a faulty hose connection on one of the facility’s tanks, Camarda said. Hydraulic oil was released into secondary containment, which was cracked and leaked.

Messages left for Oil City-based Electalloy, Braeburn Alloy’s parent company, were not returned.

The facility was closed at the time of the spill, so the leak was not initially discovered by the company, Camarda said. Two passersby reported seeing the sheen along the river’s Lower Burrell shore and notified authorities.

“When (the spill) was discovered, oil had seeped through cracking in the secondary containment and migrated to a nearby catch basin, which discharges to the Allegheny River,” Camarda said. “DEP does not have an estimate of the amount of oil released and awaits an estimate of oil recovered by the environmental contractor.”

Camarda said Braeburn Alloy installed temporary hydraulic tanks until new permanent tanks are delivered. The tanks are double-walled, with built-in containment, which reduces the risk of a spill happening again.

Municipal authorities at the time reported no issues with their water.

There has not been any reported impact to aquatic life in the river, Camarda said.