Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By Bruce Finley, The Denver Post

Suncor Energy emergency response crews worked through the night to keep oily muck in Sand Creek from reaching the South Platte River about a mile west of the refinery>

Workers wearing respirators went to the scene after Environmental Protection Agency investigators checked out a tip. The workers put on rubber boots and set up orange booms at three locations, and planned to set up booms at a fourth location along Sand Creek — trying to contain an oily substance that had migrated from the bank into the creek between the Burlington Ditch and the South Platte.

The Suncor crews arrived about 2:30 p.m. Monday, after state and county authorities said they could not confirm any pollution.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment received a report Sunday morning of a sheen on the surface of the creek, and on Monday morning generated an incident report for a state health department database.

EPA duty officer Craig Myers said the substance was seeping out of a creek bank and that there were heavy petroluem odors in the air and a sheen on the creek.

Refineries have been located near the scene since 1938.

"We don't know the source of this material. We don't know what it is," said Suncor vice president for refining John Gallagher after surveying the creek. "Our priorities are to protect the environment — whether it is our material or not — and to protect our workers."

Read more and watch for updates in the investigation at the Denver Post website.