Ferguson Township officials will hold a public forum next week to discuss the impact of and response to a heating oil spill last month in the township.
The forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16 at Baileyville Community Hall, 210 Deibler Road, Pennsylvania Furnace.
During the township’s monthly Coffee and Conversation in January, members of the township’s agricultural community expressed concerns about the Jan. 14 spill which originated from a Minnesota Street residence and saw heating oil accidentally pumped into an unnamed tributary of Beaver Branch. The discussion “brought forth a need for the Township to review the way in which emergency events are communicated with residents,” according to a township news release.
“While the investigation and clean-up efforts fall under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, it is with the best interests of safety and care that the Township seeks to inform and strengthen communication efforts among those impacted by the spill,” the release stated.
The forum will focus on the public impact of the oil spill, the communications response and guidance for residents on who to contact in an environmental emergency. The township also is looking to address concerns about unintended environmental impacts to residents, livestock and the agricultural community.
Representatives on hand will include township Manager Centrice Martin, Police Chief John Petrick and stormwater engineer Aaron Jolin. Shawn Kauffman, Centre Region Emergency Management coordinator and acting fire director, and Brian Heiser, executive director of the State College Borough Water Authority, also will be in attendance to discuss their roles in environmental emergency and the maintenance of safe drinking water.
The DEP was contacted after a report of a sheen on the surface of the stream and discovered that it came from a home that mistakenly received a delivery of heating oil. The home no longer uses heating oil and it was subsequently discharged into the basement where a sump pump then pumped some of it into the stream.
DEP Press Secretary Jamar Thrasher said last month that there are no local surface water drinking water sources downstream. Because of the limestone geology, Rock Springs Water Company, which operates a groundwater source downstream, was notified “out of an abundance of caution.”
He also said that the nature of the oil minimizes stream impacts.
“While a release of heating oil is never a positive outcome, one mitigating factor is that heating oil floats which minimizes the acute impacts to aquatic life and allows for the use of absorbent pads to aid in the collection of product,” Thrasher wrote.
DEP provided oversight to a cleanup contractor procured by the supplier and is requiring additional well sampling.
Residents with questions and concerns about the Minnesota Street spill should contact the DEP at (570) 327-3636.
