MAYFLOWER, AR — Hundreds of gallons of oil poured from a ruptured pipeline on Good Friday 2013, it’s hard to believe but it’s almost been a year since the Mayflower oil spill.
Tuesday afternoon officials with Exxon Mobil joined local leaders to discuss progress in restoring the community.
The message nearly one year later was one of progress. Mayflower’s mayor, the Faulkner County judge and officials with Exxon Mobil say that while there’s no doubt people’s lives have been affected, the community is ready to move on.
Exxon Mobil Vice President of Pipeline Operations, Karen Tyrone, was on hand for the meeting. She said thousands of air, water and soil samples have been taken both in the community and in Lake Conway.
She says they show no lasting threat to people or the environment.
Judge Allen Dodson agrees that much progress has been made and he applauds Exxon Mobil’s cleanup efforts.
Still, he says, more work needs to be done to remove all remnants of oil.
“There still work left to do in the cove over there by Lake Conway,” said Dodson. “We’ve got a few hot spots that need to be addressed.”
Over in the Northwoods subdivision where the spill happened, homes sit empty on the block where oil flowed down. They’ve been bought up by Exxon Mobil.
Three homes have also been torn down because oil seeped in under the foundation.
Tyrone says there is no timeline to restart the pipeline, and the company has not decided whether to comply with demands to reroute the pipeline around Lake Maumelle.
Tuesday afternoon officials with Exxon Mobil joined local leaders to discuss progress in restoring the community.
The message nearly one year later was one of progress. Mayflower’s mayor, the Faulkner County judge and officials with Exxon Mobil say that while there’s no doubt people’s lives have been affected, the community is ready to move on.
Exxon Mobil Vice President of Pipeline Operations, Karen Tyrone, was on hand for the meeting. She said thousands of air, water and soil samples have been taken both in the community and in Lake Conway.
She says they show no lasting threat to people or the environment.
Judge Allen Dodson agrees that much progress has been made and he applauds Exxon Mobil’s cleanup efforts.
Still, he says, more work needs to be done to remove all remnants of oil.
“There still work left to do in the cove over there by Lake Conway,” said Dodson. “We’ve got a few hot spots that need to be addressed.”
Over in the Northwoods subdivision where the spill happened, homes sit empty on the block where oil flowed down. They’ve been bought up by Exxon Mobil.
Three homes have also been torn down because oil seeped in under the foundation.
Tyrone says there is no timeline to restart the pipeline, and the company has not decided whether to comply with demands to reroute the pipeline around Lake Maumelle.
