5,000 gallons of leaking gas still trapped in sewer

State officials say they believe about 5,000 or 6,000 gallons of gasoline may still be trapped in the sewer system in Minneapolis. The fuel leaked into the system Wednesday after a tanker truck carrying 8,000 gallons of gas rolled over on the entrance ramp to Interstate 394.

The Minneapolis Fire Department flushed the system yesterday, sending about 2,000 gallons of gas into a containment boom set up in the Mississippi River.

Sam Brungardt, a spokesman for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, says the department plans to flush the sewer system again in order to get the rest of the gasoline out.

"They're going to do it as soon as they can get all the logistics in place so they can do that flush safely and they can have preparations to go ahead and capture that gasoline and hold it until we can vacuum it up off that containment area," says Brungardt.

Meanwhile, officials say extensive vapor monitoring will continue in the sewer system and at the pipe that comes out of it near the river.

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