Harvey’s flooding blamed in major gasoline spill in Texas

A petroleum company says Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters triggered a spill of almost a half-million gallons of gasoline from two storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel.

The spill measured 10,988 barrels, which is more than 461,000 gallons. That marks the largest reported spill linked to Harvey’s floodwaters.

The gasoline spilled from a Magellan Midstream Partners fuel terminal in Galena Park. Some of it flowed into a waterway adjacent to the ship channel, a heavily industrialized area that’s lined with dozens of petrochemical facilities.

Magellan spokesman Bruce Heine said Monday that the spill was contained and cleanup was ongoing.

The Associated Press has identified more than two dozen spills from fuel and chemical tanks that failed during Harvey. Government regulations do not require tank owners to take specific steps against flooding.