UPDATE - Oil clean-up continues in Milton

Board Communications Officer, Paul Shields said well water tests have come back negative. “However, we decided to continue to provide bottled water until the current excavations are covered and the work complete.”

He explained the board is doing this to assure parents and students they do not need to worry about the impact of the excavations on the well or aquifer in general.

The well is both uphill and distant from the site of the spill, he added.

He said crews are still finding "pockets" of hydrocarbon contamination, so the clean-up continues. He added the weather has hampered the speed and efficiency of the effort. “Exploratory ditches were dug near the roadway and no contamination was found. The drilling of test holes and ditches is intended to sample soil in various locations to determine if there is an underground pollution plume - that is, a spread of product in the soil. To date, the contamination appears to be limited to the immediate vicinity of the school building, and does not appear to have spread widely on the property. We continue to be thorough in investigating the potential spread of product underground.”

The board, he added, believes in-filling of the excavations will begin this week.

The board contracted Jacques Whitford Limited to direct the clean-up and tests under the eye of the Department of Environment.

A custodian at the school discovered the leak Jan. 2. The three existing tanks have been replaced with two temporary tanks.

Contaminated soil is being taken, under permit, to the Queens County landfill.