Sunoco gas pipeline ruptures in Lycoming County
Flash floods and landslides in north-central Pennsylvania have caused a Sunoco pipeline to rupture, spilling an estimated 55,000 gallons of gasoline into a tributary of Loyalsock creek in Lycoming County. Sunoco’s control center responded to the rupture at about 3 a.m. Friday morning, after a decrease in pressure was detected and residents noticed a strong smell of gasoline, according to Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields. The Department of Environmental Protection says it sent staff to the spill in Gamble Township along with local emergency crews, the state Fish and Boat Commission, the EPA, and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Several area towns have had to shut off or alter their drinking water sources and some area residents have been encouraged to conserve water. Lewisburg resident Carol Parenzan says she was contacted by her local water company, Pennsylvania American Water, Friday afternoon with a notice about the spill, asking customers to conserve water.
Published in State Impact by Susan Phillips on October 21, 2016