DNR reports that cleanup begins in Bootheel gas leak

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Cleanup has begun near the Missouri Bootheel town New Madrid after gasoline was found to be leaking into the Mississippi River, officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

DNR officials were notified June 2 of strong petroleum odors near a closed fuel terminal. Investigators found that about 250 yards of the river levee was saturated with gasoline, and some gasoline was making its way into the river.

The terminal, owned by Sinclair Corp., was used for bulk storage from the 1940s to 1997. The company and DNR were trying to determine the extent of the contamination, DNR spokeswoman Renee Bungart said.

DNR officials do not think the leak has affected drinking water supplies, she said.