SCDES is coordinating with EPA Region 4, the Products (SE) Pipe Line facility (a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan), and local officials on the ongoing remediation of a diesel fuel release in Spartanburg. At this time, it’s believed that approximately 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel were released from the Products (SE) Pipe Line facility offsite, into a nearby creek.
The leak was quickly stopped by the facility, and the facility issued proper notification to both SCDES and EPA Region 4.
The number one priority of the ongoing remediation efforts is to limit impacts of the diesel fuel on the environment. While no human contact is expected to occur with this diesel, SCDES is placing signs at impacted areas to notify the public. This webpage will be updated regularly to provide updates to the community.
Details of the Release
On Feb. 1, 2026, SCDES’s Division of Environmental Emergency Response received a report from the National Response Center of a leaking sump releasing diesel into the catch basins at the Products (SE) Pipe Line Corporation in Spartanburg.
The diesel fuel leaked from a sump pump into catch basins designed to contain potential releases. However, the diesel eventually escaped the catch basins and impacted nearby Four Mile Branch Creek. The facility’s current estimate is that 2,000 gallons of diesel may have left the property.
Upon notification of the diesel release, SCDES immediately responded by sending Emergency Response personnel to the site to observe the incident and advise the facility on best mitigation efforts for minimizing impacts to the environment. In these types of incidents, SCDES doesn’t perform the actual clean-up but provides a technical assistance role.
Products (SE) Pipe Line had quickly set up absorbent booms in multiple locations along Four Mile Branch Creek to contain the diesel. The facility also contacted multiple environmental cleanup contractors that responded and used vacuum trucks to remove the diesel from the site of the release, then moved on to other areas where diesel was observed.
EPA Region 4 personnel also responded to the scene and are coordinating on the mitigation efforts.
The facility is currently investigating the cause of the equipment failure that led to the diesel release.
Remediation and Next Steps
Once the visible diesel is removed, soil removal and excavation will begin in areas impacted by the release. The extent of the soil removal will be determined by removing visually stained soils. Once the removal is complete, the facility will collect soil samples that will be sent for laboratory analysis to confirm that impacted areas have been properly remediated. If the laboratory data indicate the presence of diesel fuel, then remediation activities will continue.