Plains taking extra caution with St. Louis oil spill

Plains All American Pipeline said it deployed more containment mechanisms near a water treatment plant north of St. Louis following last week's oil spill.

Plains reported a spill of about 100 gallons of oil at a pump station early Friday about 40 miles northwest of St. Louis. The company said it deployed about 2,700 feet of containment boom with the help of more than 200 responders.

In its latest update, the company said it deployed additional boom in area waters "out of an abundance of caution." Boom remains in place near the inlet of a water treatment facility at the southern end of nearby Highland Silver Lake.

"As a further precaution, pumps and associated equipment have been placed at the water treatment facility to provide access to an alternative water source, if required," the company said. "Highland Silver Lake remains temporarily closed to all recreational and sporting activities."

Plains offered no indication drinking water or public health was threatened by the spill. Some of the released product was contained at the site of the pumping station and the company said it was committed to "doing everything in our power" to minimize the impact of the release.

The Missouri spill came nearly three months after Line 901, operated by Plains, ruptured along the California coast. Plains said during the weekend a multi-party team was sampling beaches over three counties in order to establish a reference point for beaches potentially affected by the May 19 spill.

The Line 901 pipeline system leaked as much as 2,500 barrels of oil and left residual contamination spread out over more than 100 miles along the state coast. Plains said in its latest update Refugio State Beach, the site of the majority of the release, should reopen Friday.