BOULDER — 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 Tuesday.
The spill happened Friday and reached the creek through a storm drain at a CU parking lot west of Folsom Street, but the unnamed contractor failed to report it, officials said.
Tests showed the oil was non-toxic and, so far, health officials have found no effect on plants or wildlife.
The contractor was working at University Memorial Center when he severed a pipe that circulated heated oil under a loading dock ramp to keep it from freezing.
Booms, pumper trucks and absorbent pads removed as much of the oil as possible Saturday, officials said. More is being cleaned up this week.
“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 Tuesday.
