Colonial Pipeline Spill Information - Huntersville, N.C.

• DEQ sent Colonial Pipeline a Notice of Regulatory Requirements (NORR) that outlines the requirements that Colonial Pipeline must meet during the initial phase (described above) of site cleanup.
• Sept. 25, 2020, DEQ issued a Notice of Violation to Colonial Pipeline for impacts to groundwater quality.
• Dec. 9, 2020, DEQ sent Colonial Pipeline a second Notice of Regulatory Requirements for additional information needed to carry out DEQ's investigation into the nature of the release. 
• Feb. 24, 2021, DEQ issued a Notice of Continuing Violation to Colonial Pipeline for impacts to groundwater, identifying actions needed to complete the required Comprehensive Site Assessment.
• March 29, 2021 - Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Safety Order and proposes Colonial Pipeline take measures to ensure pipeline safety. (Enclosure 49 CFR Part 190)
• May 5, 2021 - DEQ issued a Notice of Continuing Violation about items not included in the revised Comprehensive Site Assessment and reevaluation of the estimated volume of gasoline released
  • May 12, 2021 - Colonial Pipeline Letter of Response regarding item #1 and extension request from DEQ's May 5, 2021 Notice of Continuing Violation
• Oct. 19, 2021 - DEQ issued a Notice of Continuing Violation noting that Colonial remains in violation of previous Notice of Violation
• Oct. 19, 2021 - DEQ issued a Notice of Regulatory Requirements for estimation of contamination mass in the soil, air sampling analytical results, details about petroleum contact water and other details to be included in the monthly monitoring reports
  • Oct. 28, 2021 - Colonial Pipeline Letter of Response regarding DEQ's Oct. 19 Notice of Continuing Violation
• Oct. 27, 2021 - DEQ's Division of Water Resources issued a Notice of Regulatory Requirements to require Colonial to collect surface water data for pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, VOCs, total lead and PFAS (in specific locations)
  • Dec. 24, 2021 - Colonial Pipeline Letter of Response to DWR's Notice of Regulatory Requirements

On Friday, August 14, 2020, at 5:42 p.m., local and state response agencies and Colonial Pipeline were notified of liquid product smelling of gasoline near the intersection of Huntersville-Concord Road and Asbury Chapel Road in the Oehler Nature Preserve. Local first responders and Colonial Pipeline employees responded to a leak in one of its underground lines crossing the Oehler Nature Preserve owned by Mecklenburg County, located at 14511 Huntersville-Concord Road east of the Town of Huntersville in Mecklenburg County. The pipeline was immediately shut down to conduct repair work. As of Wednesday, August 19, the repair to the pipeline has been completed. Cleanup efforts and remediation are underway, with oversight by the Division of Waste Management. 

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Waste Management, along with Charlotte/Mecklenburg County Emergency Management, Town of Huntersville and Colonial Pipeline, have been responding to the situation since it began on August 14. 

To address the emergency nature of the situation, Colonial Pipeline began soil excavation to reach the underground pipe. Foam was used to limit flammable vapors. As of Sept. 15, 2020, no product was detected in nearby surface waters, and surface waters continue to be monitored. Soil and water supply well samples were collected during initial response efforts. Colonial Pipeline established a perimeter of 2,000-feet from the breach for environmental sampling purposes. As many as 22 drinking water wells have been tested for petroleum products; to date, those samples have not shown any gasoline products in the results. The first two rounds of supply well sampling were wells within a 2,000-feet radius; and the second two rounds were within a 1,500-foot radius. More than 80 soil samples have been collected with only those nearest to the leak showing impacts from gasoline products. Thirty-two product recovery wells and 47 groundwater monitoring wells have been installed. As of Nov. 30, 2020, Colonial Pipeline estimates that 354,060 gallons (or 8,430 barrels) of gasoline was released from the fuel line.

Colonial Pipeline has reported the cause of the release as equipment failure. The full extent of the environmental impacts from the spill is currently being assessed and necessary proactive actions are being undertaken to ensure that these impacts are minimized. Local, state and federal agencies are working in cooperation with Mecklenburg County agencies, the Town of Huntersville and its first responders, along with Colonial Pipeline, on initial cleanup activities.

NCDEQ has a process for site cleanup, which includes required sampling/testing and monitoring based on the evaluation of environmental impacts. The Department’s oversight adheres to regulatory requirements. NCDEQ has sent Colonial Pipeline a Notice of Regulatory Requirements (NORR) that outlines the requirements that Colonial Pipeline must meet during the initial phase (described above) of site cleanup.

The immediate response –  called the Initial Abatement Phase – requires Colonial Pipeline to stop the leak and address impacted soils at the point of release. As part of this phase, the responsible party (Colonial Pipeline) samples soil and groundwater at the release site and at drinking water supply wells and surface waters within an area set by NCDEQ. Air monitoring is also on-going at the worksite but not required by DEQ’s non-underground storage tanks statutes. Colonial Pipeline is providing sampling and testing data to NCDEQ. There have been no gasoline impacts identified during the four rounds of sampling for water supply wells and surface waters as of Sept. 15, 2020.

Colonial Pipeline has 90 days to submit an Initial Assessment Report that documents all of the actions it has taken during the initial response phase, which includes all soil, groundwater and surface water data and documentation on amounts of soil removed from the site.

On Sept. 25, 2020, DEQ issued a Notice of Violation to Colonial Pipeline for impacts to groundwater quality.

On Dec. 9, 2020, DEQ sent Colonial Pipeline a second Notice of Regulatory Requirements for additional information needed to carry out DEQ's investigation into the nature of the release. 

On Feb. 24, 2021, DEQ issued a Notice of Continuing Violation to Colonial Pipeline for impacts to groundwater, indentifying actions needed to complete the required Comprehensive Site Assessment.

Following receipt of the Initial Assessment Report, NCDEQ will require a Comprehensive Site Assessment (CSA) that specifies that the groundwater plume and soil impacts be fully identified and described. DEQ must approve the CSA before Colonial Pipeline can prepare and submit its Corrective Action Plan, which is a plan that details Colonial Pipeline’s actions to clean up any remaining soils and groundwater to state groundwater standards.

The air monitoring at the Colonial site shows concentrations below CDC and NIOSH exposure guidelines.

Beginning in April 2021, DEQ's Division of Air Quality (DAQ) and Mecklenburg Air Quality operated an ambient air sampler on-site to evaluate specific volatile air pollutants during clean-up efforts. This sampling site was established to screen for these compounds and help inform decisions about the need for long-term monitoring. This monitoring concluded in January 2023.

The sampler collected a 24-hour composite air sample every six days in a specially prepared and certified 6-liter canister. This canister sample was subsequently retrieved and returned to the DAQ central laboratory for analysis for the suite of compounds using EPA Compendium Method TO-15.

While there are no federal or state ambient air quality standards for this suite of compounds, there are exposure guidelines for many of the compounds established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to which the monitoring data can be compared. Those guidelines provide human inhalation exposure limits to various compounds below which adverse health risks are not expected over a specified duration of exposure. More information on the exposure guidelines can be found on the ATSDR and NIOSH websites.

On Oct. 15, 2021, the Mecklenburg County Air Quality Program issued a remediation site air permit to Colonial Pipeline. 

The data summary provides the quarterly compound concentration averages for samples collected between April 2021 and January 2023. These values were all found to be below the ATSDR or NIOSH guidelines for which values are available.

Monitoring Data Summary

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Waste Management houses the Underground Storage Tanks Section, which has regulatory authority for the cleanup of gasoline spills. The NCDEQ guidelines for non-UST releases can be found at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/waste-management/ust/nonust-program.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or PHMSA is the federal agency that regulates pipeline safety. More information can be found at: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/.

Mecklenburg County Air Quality regulates industrial sources of air pollution operating at the remediation site. More information on compliance monitoring activities and air permitting status at this site can be found here.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality's Underground Storage Tanks Section does not regulate the operations of petroleum pipelines in the state. The regulatory authority for operational oversight for petroleum pipelines falls under the Public Utilities Commission. However, the Underground Storage Tanks Section does have regulations for when there are above-ground spills and releases of petroleum. The historical files below contain records of historical petroleum (gasoline) spills and releases by Colonial Pipeline in North Carolina.

Historical files of petroleum spills or releases by Colonial Pipeline as regulated by the N.C. Underground Storage Tanks Section.

If the above link does not bring you to the documents, they can be reached by going to the DWM Documents webpage,  

• Click on Laserfiche WebLink (public interface, new document management system)
• Click "Browse" in the upper left corner
• The folder path is Underground Storage Tanks > Colonial Pipeline

Note: Colonial Pipeline's may also be regulated by DEQ's other regulatory divisions.  

If you have questions about health concerns from exposure to gasoline or gasoline products, contact the Mecklenburg County Health Department at (704) 336-4700.

Materials

• DEQ Factsheet

Involved agencies

• DEQ - Division of Waste Management | (919) 707-8200 
• Town of Huntersville - https://www.huntersville.org/
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg - https://charlottenc.gov/StormWater/AboutUs/Pages/Newsroom.aspx
• Mecklenburg County Health Department – Daniel Ortiz, Environmental Health Director | (980) 314-1636
• Colonial Pipeline - https://sr2448.colonialresponse.com/