Massive fuel and oil leak contained in Clinton Twp

CLINTON TWP., Mich. (WJBK) - A massive cleanup is underway in Clinton Township after thousands of gallons of hydraulic fuel and oil seeped into a storm drain.

The leak happened at the Teske Drain near 15 Mile and Kelly Road and neighbors are the ones who brought the spill to the county's attention.

Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller says they've contained the leak.

"We were able to contain it. Stop any of these very harmful containments from continuing to have any environmental impact on habitat here, or into our drains (and) our water quality," Miller said.

County officials say the brown oily substance is a result of a fire last week at a nearby business called Complete Prototype Services.

"The fire suppression system came on and if washed all the hydraulic oils and everything that would have been in there factory down through storm drains," Miller said.

The business believed it had everything cleaned up but when residents started seeing the brown sheen in the drain behind their homes, county officials stepped in.

"Last week, we set up booms and absorbent pads to get all the oil out of the drain. We thought we had it all," Miller said. "Now we had rain and we're getting it a lot more so we're having a company come and suck all containments out of the drain that we have contained here. So far they've taken out about 6,000 gallons."

Thomas Lambert says this is not the first time something like this has happened at the Teske Drain.

"We've called in the past and this is probably first time an actual cleanup crew has arrived," he said.

Neighbors say they're happy to see the cleanup but the real solution is preventing this from happening again

"Stopping the discharge is obliviously the solution. Someone's going to have to figure which drains over in the industrial complex south of Fraser are discharging,"

If anyone needs to make a report, they can do so by calling 24-hour Pollution Emergency Alert System at 800-292-4706