A crude oil leak in Edwardsville on March 11 led to several road closures and lawsuits against the faulty pipeline’s parent company.

According to the City of Edwardsville press release, sections of Wanda Road west of the SIUE campus and Old Alton Edwardsville Road were shut down due to the spill.

The oil leaked from the Marathon Pipeline connecting as far as Oklahoma to eastern Ohio. 

“…The spill was estimated to have been about 165,000 gallons of released oil. Initial reports estimated the release at 3,000 barrels of oil,” said a KSDK article.

And responders came from several Madison County emergency response teams, as well as companies like Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery and Marathon Pipeline, according to the Edwardsville press release. 

Marathon Pipeline said Tuesday that they had resolved the issue and concluded the clean-up.

More information was said to be available on the City of Edwardsville website as clean-up efforts continued, but no new information has been added.  

Soon after the spill occurred, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Marathon Pipeline. 

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency worked quickly to resolve the spill, making the initial call to Raoul to oversee Marathon Pipeline’s involvement in the clean-up and pursue legal action.

“The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has since referred an enforcement action against Marathon Pipe Line LLC (Marathon) to my office, which is under review,” Raoul said in a statement. “…I am committed to protecting the health and safety of residents, as well as the environment, and will work with the IEPA to ensure that Marathon remediates the release.”

The lawsuit argues that Marathon’s control over the pipeline put the environment, water, public health and welfare at risk, also claiming Marathon had poor control over their resources.

According to an Illinois press release, the lawsuit will hold Marathon Pipeline accountable with $10,000 to $50,000 in fines per violation. It will also require the company to act immediately, stopping all releases of crude oil into the pipeline and tending to the health and environmental consequences of the spill.

“The long-lasting impact of this oil spill could be detrimental if not properly and quickly remediated,” Raoul said. “I am committed to ensuring that Marathon is held accountable for the damage it has already done and preventing it from causing further harm to the public’s health and the environment.”