A pipe accidentally cut by a university contractor spilled about 30 gallons of heating oil into Boulder Creek, the city and the University of Colorado said today.
The spill happened last Friday and reached the creek through a storm drain at a university parking lot west of Folsom Street, but the unnamed contractor failed to report it, officials said.
The source of the oil was indentified Monday. Tests showed it to be non-toxic and, so far, health officials have found no impact to plants or wildlife.
The contractor was working at the University Memorial Center when he severed a the pipe that circulated heated oil under a loading dock ramp to keep it from freezing.
Booms, pumper trucks and absorbant pads removed as much of the oil as possible on Saturday, officials said. More cleaning will take place later this week, according to the university.
“Our relationship with the environment is a very important value to the University of Colorado at Boulder,” Frank Bruno, CU-Boulder’s vice chancellor for administration, said in a statement today.
