On Monday, April 24, City Engineer Mark Schmitzer was sent out to the Whispering Meadows Development for soil and water inspection of a retention basin and creek that feeds into it. He noticed a sheen on the pond and followed the trail that came from the area oil well. He contacted the North Royalton Fire Department and reported the crude oil spill to the ground and in a pond near Apollo and Foxwood Drives to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Ohio EPA and Cutter Oil, who owns the Callas well. The North Royalton Fire Department responded immediately and the cleanup effort took place. The Cutter Oil representative was on site within the hour.
According to North Royalton Fire Chief, Bob Chegan, the Fire Department got the call at 12:24 p.m. that day. They placed absorbent pads and booms in the area to contain the spill in the pond. Cutter Oil brought equipment to clean up the containment area surrounding the well. He explained that the wells are built with a retention area within the well so if there is a leak, the oil stays in that area. He noted that most of the oil was contained there. Chegan said that their aim was to confirm and contain the oil before it goes into any other waterway. “Some times it’s moving down a waterway. Luckily, this was not the case this time.” Most of the Fire Department crew completed the containment by 1:57 p.m. Assistant Chief Tom Habak remained until about 3 p.m.
Chegan said that the Ohio EPA will “keep an eye on it to make sure it is cleaned.” Mayor Bob Stefanik said that the ODNR has been asked by the city to inspect all North Royalton wells, which number between 80 and 100. He also indicated that Cutter Oil will pay for all city expenses relating to the leak.
This area has seen an oil leak before. In August of 2011, complaints came in regarding a gas odor in the area of Apollo and Foxwood Drives. The gas vapors were coming from oil storage tanks located on Mercury Drive and an oily residue detected near a containment border. Again in September of that year, an oil spill into a back yard creek of a Broadview Heights resident was traced back to the Mercury Drive site.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer