A diesel pipeline that ruptured and leaked last week northwest of Mason City is back in use. Tom Byers of Magellan Midstream Partners says the defective portion of the 12-inch pipeline was cut out, and a new portion welded into place, allowing operations to resume on Saturday morning.
"Clean up is ongoing, on the site as we speak," says Byers. "That includes the removal of contaminated soil. We’ll be removing that soil and replacing it with clean soil."
Magellan also says the number of gallons that spilled is far fewer than their earlier estimate. The company says nearly 47,000 gallons were lost, though a Wednesday estimate was almost three times that amount.
A reason for the rupture has not been released, and the company says an investigation is underway.