CASE HISTORY: RECOVERY OF FUEL OIL FROM THE GROUNDWATER
John M. Bohunsky. Chief
Field Operations Section
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Lansing, Michigan 48909
INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the loss of an estimated 400,000 gal of fuel oil and subsequent
measures undertaken to affect its recovery. The loss resulted from a fuel od tank farm
utilized by a steel processor located in the smad community of South Lyon in southeastern Michigan.
Loss of chemicals or petroleum products is a common occurrence and in most cases
it attracts very little public attention. In this instance the large volume and an innuendo
by the news media of a possible cover-up resulted in extensive news media coverage. A
full investigation disclosed no wrong-doing on the part of any employee, but rather an
incorrect procedure in logging the incident. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources maintains a logging system of all spdls and reported complaints as a matter of
public record. This incident was initially logged as a 500-gal spill based on early observations of fuel oil in a surface water drain. Full extent of the loss was not revealed
untd several days later, but for some reason no update of the log entry was made to
show the magnitude of the loss. Innuendos of a cover-up thus occurred because of the
incorrect volume of the spdl entered on and continued to be carried by the log system.
DISCOVERY OF LOSS
On Tuesday, March  19, 1974, an investigator assigned to the Detroit District Office
was in South Lyon, Michigan, to investigate a complaint to a land drainage problem.
During his investigation he observed a significant amount of fuel oil (500 gal or more)
in Yerkes Drain and a marshy area adjacent to the drain. The investigation was dropped
at this point and the search for the fuel oil source in Yerkes Drain began. The investigator
was unsuccessful in locating the source of the oil on this day. As a matter of routine procedure, the investigator reported the discovery of the fuel oil on the surface water to the
central log system giving such information as was available at the time.
The search for the od source was continued early on the following day with close
investigation of a grade school that burned fuel od and bulk od storage facdities belonging to Mobd Od, Standard Od and Arco. After these suspected sources were carefully investigated and eliminated as a source of the fuel oil loss, the investigation focused
on the Michigan Seamless Tube Company, which has since changed its name to Quanex.
The name change, I should point out, was a recent management decision and did not
occur as a result of the fuel od loss.
Early in the afternoon of the second day of the investigation, approximately 24 hr
after discovery of the loss, fuel oil was observed in a stormwater catch basin on
Quanex premises. Additional basins were also noted as containing a significant quantity
of fuel od, some of which were seeping fuel od into a nearby surface water drain.
The investigation of this incident continued into the third day when infrared samples
of oil collected during the entire course of the investigation provided conclusive evidence
of the od source. Upon notification of the discovery, the company began a program to
correct the loss and to develop a method to retrieve the od from the   ground.
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