Spill closes Meridian Road

An unidentified type of petroleum product in the city's storm sewer system prompted officials to close Meridian Road between West Idaho and Center Streets Wednesday afternoon.

A pungent, gas-like odor has been apparent along that stretch of road for days, and officials suspect an underground leak.

Authorities have been monitoring the growing quantity of petroleum product in the storm drains since Saturday. But whatever it is that's leaking into the storm sewer system reached explosive potential Wednesday.

"Levels were at a concentration that could have resulted in an explosion," said Kalispell Human Resources Director and acting City Manager Terry Mitton, the incident commander. City Manager Jim Patrick is on vacation.

Officials have not yet been able to locate the leak's source, but say it is getting bigger.

By Wednesday afternoon, the gas-like smell reached all the way from Center Street to several hundred yards past Three Mile Drive.

One possible cause is a faulty underground storage tank. There are four fueling stations in the immediate area. However, these filling stations all meet the most current safety and environmental standards, Mitton said.

But the culprit could be an old, abandoned tank, he added.

"We may have to do some heavy duty digging down here," he said.

Kalispell police, firefighters, public works crews and the Department of Environmental Quality were all responded to the scene.

Crews removed man hole covers for ventilation late Wednesday, and hazmat teams used a robotic camera to check the storm sewer system along Meridian Road.

The road won't be opened until the problem is fixed, Mitton said.

"We could be done here in a few more hours, or we could be here for days," he said late Wednesday. "We still have to find it, and we still have to deal with it."

Additional sections of Meridian Road could be closed if the leak continues to worsen, Mitton said. It is possible Meridian Road could be closed from Center Street all the way to Three Mile Drive.

Businesses along the closed stretch of Meridian Road were still open Wednesday afternoon, but officials were not allowing pedestrian traffic through.

The intersection of Appleway Drive and Meridian Road was also cordoned off.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com