An estimated 25,000 gallons of high-octane gasoline has gone missing. At more than $3.30 per gallon, that means more than $82,000 worth of the liquid gold is lying around somewhere waiting to be found.
Of course, since the gas went missing as a result of a pipeline leak, and that it likely is seeping somewhere into the deep, mine-scarred depths of eastern Northumberland County, it is likely that the gasoline is no longer a premium fuel.
It is however, a potentially high-priced environmental hazard.
When the pipeline was ruptured on Wednesday, nearby residents of Coal Township were evacuated and schools were closed as a safety precaution. Since that time, the immediate danger has passed -- but passed to where?
The amount of missing fuel is the equivalent of what three tanker trucks can carry. Considering that gasoline is an explosive, volatile organic compound, it probably is a good idea to find the stuff sooner than later.
Also considering the environmental hazards already posed by abandoned mines, especially as the acid mine runoff drains west into Susquehanna River, finding and cleaning this spill should become a priority.
This episode also should be a reminder to anyone who operates heavy digging equipment to double check their sites for underground pipelines and other utilities. This could have been a far more explosive situation than it already is.
Opinion
Gas cleanup a priority
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Good-paying jobs
I am writing in response to comments made by several lawmakers and certain media regarding people receiving unemployment compensation not searching for employment but only wanting extensions.
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Economy is tough but still pay rises
It was my first time attending a Lewisburg School Board meeting last night. I went to hear public comment on the Boards recent decision to extend the Superintendents contract, which included a 20-plus percent pay raise.
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Sunbury has a lot to offer
I would like to respond to the letter writer that inferred that Sunbury was a pretty package with nothing inside.
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Mutual aid is necessary
Mutual aid agreements in local law enforcement strike at the heart of basic small-town decency. When a neighbor is in need, those equipped to help ought to drop everything and spring to aid.
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Lifting me higher
I am not a winner of a Pulitzer Prize, nor am I an author of best selling novels, I'm just a human being attempting to live life here on earth with purpose and I can find no greater way to do that than through my faith and my belief in God.
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Understaffing
I read with interest your article regarding police mutual aid in Northumberland County.
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Carney, Marino ought to get focused on issues
U.S. Rep. Chris Carney and Tom Marino ought to focus on the issues in the upcoming campaign for Congress.
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Blatantly unfair
The Pennsylvania Republican Party is supporting an effort to strike third-party candidates from the general election ballot in November.
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Fiscal responsibility
This editorial letter is only the second such letter I have been moved to pen in my lifetime.
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Schools need a little help from home
Milton High School failed to meet its adequate yearly progress under Pennsylvania's version of the federal No Child Left Behind because one student did not show up for the standardized test.
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Good-paying jobs
