News 12 at 6 o'clock, Tuesday, September 7, 2010

TWIN CITY, Ga. – A gasoline leak in Emanuel County has part of Highway 80 closed.

According to the Emanuel County EMA Director, a gasoline leak was discovered on Saturday. Tuesday, local, state, and federal authorities finally located the leak in an underground tank under the Money Saver gas station on Highway 80.

Saturday the gasoline appeared in a ditch where it began pooling. People in the area noticed and notified authorities.

"It's possible it went on for days or weeks, and it simply went undetected," said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Coordinator Matthew Huyser.

A portion of Highway 80 is closed, more than a mile between 23 and 192. A few homes were evacuated on Saturday while they were drilling bore holes, but those people have been allowed to return. Two gas stations and a restaurant around the area have also been closed.

Since the source has been found, the stores will be allowed to reopen Wednesday. Once the gasoline gets cleaned up, Highway 80 will reopen. Other local access roads are expected to open Wednesday.

The school system was notified on Saturday of the road closures and buses were rerouted for the return to school Tuesday.

The EPA dug up soil where gas seeped in. They plan to flush a nearby creek to collect the gas near a dam. EPA monitoring has also revealed normal air quality.

Some businesses that have stayed open have also been hurt by the leak, because they're harder to reach.

"It's killed my revenue from out of towners, only people now we have here are regular customers," said Kwik Pick store owner Dale Cannady.

The Dollar General is also closed. Staff of Twin City Grocery say its business has remained strong.

No official data was available from the EPA, but Huyser said underground leaks happen at least a few times a year in the southeast.

At the state level, the Environmental Protection Division is charged with checking all underground tanks.

"There are requirements for all underground storage tanks, regular maintenance, monitoring, and reporting requirements to make it doesn't happen, and if it does that it's detected early," adds Huyser.