WARREN, Mich. – The Macomb County Public Works office provided an update as the cleanup begins after a diesel spill in Warren's Bear Creek.
Ahmad Alzin works at the BP gas station on Mound Road just north of I-696. Bear Creek runs behind the station, and that's where the spill was found, Alzin said.
That was seven months ago, though. Booms and curtains were installed to contain the spill, and experts were brought in to pinpoint where it came from.
The assumption was that there was a leaking diesel tank underground, but none of the tanks appeared to have a problem.
Now officials with the Macomb County Public Works office are thinking the diesel is very old and might have come from an unused tank. They said it might have been there for a while.
"That was an important thing to find because if you saw, it was brand-new diesel coming out here - that's not the case," Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said. "This is old product."
The fix will cost $500,000. It includes tearing up an embankment, putting in retaining walls, testing stations and more to prevent the old fuel from spilling again.
The gas station owners will get some assistance from a state-run insurance program funded by a small tax on gasoline.
You can watch Nick Monacelli's full story in the video posted above.