Acknowledgement to Great American Environmental Division
A mechanical contractor improperly installed fittings during routine maintenance of a hydraulically driven conveyor system. A subsequent leak was not discovered until the next routine maintenance cycle. The leaking hydraulic fluid migrated into a floor drain located beneath the equipment which discharged directly into an adjacent drainage ditch. Property owners adjacent to the site noticed a sheen on the water in the ditch and requested an environmental investigation by regulators. The regulators mandated clean-up of the spill and the site owner subsequently filed actions against the mechanical contractor to pay for the clean-up costs.