LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Oil spilled from a heating oil tank has officials in Luzerne County concerned about the environmental impact.
Linesville Creek runs behind a tree line along Interstate 80 in Luzerne County.
The Department of Environmental Protection says 2,000 gallons of oil leaked from a storage tank nearby, and some of it made its way into the creek. DEP officials are not sure exactly how much ended up in the stream.
The DEP traced that oil leak back to a 20,000-gallon above-ground heating oil tank at The White Haven Center several miles away.
The center is a state-run facility that houses people with disabilities, operated by the Department of Human Services.
While the DEP did not say which tank, Newswatch 16 found men working on a tank on the campus.
Sam Cajevic lives near the center and says the spill has him worried for his family's health, especially his daughter, Ella, who is 2 years old.
"Yeah, absolutely. Oil in the ground, in the water, yeah, that's not good. Like we're running out of fresh water as it is,” said Cajevic. "Exactly, I look forward to her future.”
The DEP says crews placed booms around the spill to absorb some of the material.
However, Linesville Creek feeds into the Lehigh River.
Allison Croughn is a manager at White Haven Market.
“There's millions of people that come here for vacation, so it's going affect everything,” said Croughn. "People fish, and you don't want any to get sick."
The DEP says the Department of Human Services will have to hire a contractor to come out and clean up the oil.
Charles Wheeler lives just outside White Haven in Carbon County and isn't really worried.
“It will dissipate is my thought," said Wheeler. "They go through a lot of trouble to clean all this stuff up, and I agree it is an environmental hazard. It will dissipate over time."