UPDATED: Butane Leak Closes Down Weber Road

UPDATED at 7:40 p.m.

A representative of ONEOK Partners Inc. said a butane pipeline leak is under control Saturday night and the spilled fuel has been isolated.

No injuries have been reported in the incident near 135th Street and Weber Road, said ONEOK spokeswoman Megan Washbourne.

Officials for the company are on the scene, along with Romeoville emergency and hazmat crews.

"They're still investigating what caused [the leak]," Washbourne said, adding that it's too soon to say when cleanup will be completed. "It's being monitored by the fire department."

The first report of the eight-inch pipeline leak came in shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. Weber Road is currently closed between Lakewood Falls Drive and Carillon Drive/Grand Boulevard.

According to an ONEOK data sheet, butane is a colorless, highly flammable gas that is an explosive and fire hazard. It is classified as hazardous under OSHA regulations and may be harmful if inhaled. 

According to a press release issued by the village, the leak has caused the closure of several businesses along Weber, and ONEOK officials were on the scene shutting down valves. No environmental issues have been reported, the release said. A representative for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said she had not been notified about the leak.

Reached by cell phone, Mayor John Noak referred questions to Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey, who was on the scene and did not immediately return a call from Patch.

“The situation is currently stable,” Noak said. “We have folks on site evaluating the situation.”

Third leak in less than a year

The butane pipeline leak is the third fuel spill in Romeoville since September 2010, when a crude oil pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy Partners ruptured, dumping 457,800 gallons near Parkwood Avenue and Route 53.

Three months later, near the Citgo Lemont Refinery closed New Avenue from Archer Avenue in Lockport to 135th Street in Romeoville for several days, halted Metra service and spilled about 21,000 gallons of crude oil.