ST. CHARLES (KMOX) - Crews are working "around the clock" to contain spillage from a pipeline break in St. Charles County.
It's estimated a little more than 40 barrels, or about 1,800 gallons, of crude oil leaked out Wednesday near the railroad tracks west of Campville. It still isn't clear whether the leak originated in the Keystone pipeline or the Platte pipeline – both of which have been shut off for the duration of an inquiry.
The total area impacted is estimated to be about 4-thousand square feet.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources' chief of the environmental emergency-response section, Brad Harris says the spill is in a low-lying area 1,700-feet south of the Mississippi River in north St. Charles County, which he believes will escape unscathed. KMOX asked if nearby waterways are being affected, or could be in the near future.
He says they're testing the private drinking water sources nearby to first get a baseline.
Still to be determined is whether the leak sprang from the 30-inch Keystone pipeline, or the nearby 20-inch wide Platte pipeline operated by Enbridge Inc.
The Keystone pipeline sends 590,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada to Oklahoma. The Platte pipeline also begins in Alberta, Canada and terminates in Wood River, Ill.