WELLFLEET — The tank at Mid-Cape Home Centers on Commercial Street that was discovered to have leaked about 250 gallons of heating oil on Jan. 25 was inspected a year ago by Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Capello, who noted at the time that the tank was aging and strongly recommended replacing it, Fire Chief Richard Pauley told the Independent this week.
The cleanup of the January leak led to a secondary spill discovered on March 10 after oily water that was being collected in another tank overflowed into the street and storm drain.
Pauley read from Capello’s March 31, 2023 inspection report: “Oil tank is old. I strongly suggest to replace it with a double-walled tank.” Mid-Cape Home Centers did not replace the tank as recommended before the January leak occurred, Pauley confirmed.
State and local laws do not allow the fire dept. to require a property owner to replace a tank, Pauley noted, except in extreme circumstances, such as when a tank has fallen onto its side. In situations where tanks are aging, which was the case at the Mid-Cape, Pauley said, “We recommend replacing it. We can’t require it by code unless the property is being transferred.”
The tank was found empty with a hole in its bottom by a store employee on Jan. 25. As the Independent previously reported, cleanup of the site began the following day, and the oil release was restricted to the property itself — neither adjacent properties nor nearby Duck Creek appeared to have been affected.
But at 8 p.m. on March 10, a passerby spotted oil in the hardware store’s parking lot and on the nearby street, Pauley said, and alerted the Wellfleet Fire Dept., whose members began a cleanup immediately using absorbent pads, Speedy Dry, and booms to remove the oil.
Some of the oil had spilled into a nearby storm drain, so water was pumped out of three or four other storm drains, too, said Pauley. Firefighters spent five hours on the cleanup and estimated, in consultation with environmental experts and DPW Director Jay Norton, that “no more than 15 gallons of fuel were released into the storm drain system,” according to a statement prepared for the press.
Pauley said that a malfunctioning pump that added too much liquid to the tank is the likely culprit. This, paired with a period of heavy rain, probably led the tank to overflow and spill the water and oil into the street, he said.
There is currently no evidence that this second spill has made its way into Duck Creek. The outflow pipe from the storm drain system, which would have released the oil into the waterway, “has been dry of any product of water and oil,” Pauley said, indicating that the storm drain prevented the oil from escaping the system.
He also confirmed that daily monitoring by the remediation crew has been ongoing to ensure that no oil reaches the embayment. Pauley said he expects monitoring to continue for months or even years.
Susan Jason, the licensed site professional responsible for overseeing the cleanup of the spill, could not be reached for comment. Mid-Cape Home Centers did not respond to a request for comment before the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday night.
