Cleanup work continued Thursday at a Cypress intersection where oil seeped to the surface, forcing the closure of a street and excavation project to determine the source of the leak.
The leak was discovered about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on Cerritos Avenue near Valley View Street. Cerritos Avenue was shut down in both directions between Valley View and Holder Avenue so crews could dig down to expose the underground pipes.
Crews from Plains All American Pipeline, which has an old pipeline that hasn’t been used since 1997 in the area, were working with the city to determine the source of the leak — although several companies apparently have pipelines in the same area.
“Though it is still uncertain if the released oil is from the idled Plains pipeline, out of an abundance of caution, Plains has made the appropriate notifications and has contained the release and collected all freestanding oil,” according to a statement from the company. “Plains personnel continue to conduct investigatory work to determine ownership of the line responsible for the release.
“At this time, we are uncertain of the amount of oil that was released,” according to the company.
City public works officials indicated Wednesday that about 10 to 15 gallons had leaked. City officials were also working to ensure that the leak had not contaminated any soil in the surrounding area.
Officials from the state Department Fish and Wildlife, Southern California Edison and Orange County Fire Authority were among those that responded to the scene.
There were no evacuations or reports of injuries or illness.
—City News Service