UPDATE: Oil Also Spotted in Brook in Maplewood

A Nutley Hazmat team and the state DEP responded to an oil leak at West End Road by South Wyoming Avenue on Thursday afternoon.

The South Orange Fire Department initially arrived at the location to investigate an oil odor. Upon arrival, they found that the odor was emanating from a depression in the front lawn. 

Booms were deployed in the street to catch any remaining runoff, and Nutley Hazmat was notified and responded to the scene. The product in the tank was pumped out by Anco Environmental, and due to the inclement weather, the tank was sealed and secured in place until Monday.

While fire personnel were still on site, the Village was notified an oily sheen had been observed on the eastern branch of the Rahway River downstream from South Orange. The river was checked further upstream, and no sheen was observed. As of Thursday evening, it couldn't be determined with certainty that the two incidents were related to each other, according to information provided by Village Administrator John Gross.

According to a DEP emergency response specialist, the leak came from an abandoned oil tank that had filled up with rain water, causing heating oil to spill out and make its way into a drainage pipe and ultimately into a gutter alongside the road.

Emergency responders were working to remediate the site by sucking up oil through hoses and absorbent materials. They were making their way downhill from West End Road toward the eastern branch of the Rahway River, where runoff from the gutter would ultimately terminate, to gauge how far the oil had spread.

South Orange Health Official John Festa was also present.

A West End Road resident who lives across the street from the site said she first smelled oil last night.