DEC investigating gas spill in Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating a gas spill in the City of Niagara Falls. Residents who live nearby said they’ve been smelling fumes for weeks as a result of the spill, and they’re calling for action.

The DEC has been investigating this gas spill over the past several weeks at United Gas Mart at 1038 Pine Ave., which is at the corner of Portage Road and Pine Avenue — a busy area in Niagara Falls.

Late last month, the DEC and their spill response experts responded to complaints of odors in the area’s sewer system, and investigators found that meter readings peaked at this gas station. The DEC said the business did an underground investigation and found the gasoline spill.

Residents said they’ve been smelling fumes in their homes for several weeks.

“It’s not going to make the house explode — that was my concern, because our furnace is right there,” said Mary Jo Zacher, a Niagara Falls resident. “So you’re up at night thinking, ‘Oh my God, what if something catches on fire?’ I’m not going to hear anything. And I’m at my wit’s end. We just want to have our house.”

The DEC said that gasoline had to be collected using a vacuum truck. The most recent cleanup was Friday morning, and those cleanups are happening about once a week. The state said that it’s found no evidence of gasoline being deliberately dumped into the sewer system.

“Some days it’s unbearable,” Zacher said. “Like, especially on the weekends … some days it’s just too much. We have to leave for a while and come back and forth, we have the windows open in the basement. Our son works at a construction place; he brought in air movers. He has a little alarm set up so if the levels go up, we’ll know.”

We did reach out to the owner of the business. He said that repairs have been made, but the DEC will continue to investigate.

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