School District Could Lose Money Because of Romeoville Oil Spill

The Valley View School District 365U has been losing about $4,000 per day in labor hours because of a damaged pipeline that leaked thousands of gallons of oil in sections of Romeoville last week, according to Valley View spokesman Larry Randa.

Federal officials said more than 250,000 gallons of crude oil had gushed from a ruptured Enbridge Energy Partners pipeline. The oil leak originated near 719 Parkwood Ave., on Sept. 9. 

The leak forced Valley View officials to cancel bus service on Sept. 10, costing the district roughly $15,000 in lost wages to bus drivers and monitors, Randa said. That money will be paid back to the school by Enbridge, Randa said.

But with cleanup and recovery efforts still ongoing, Valley View buses continued to be rerouted to temporary holding sites during school hours, instead of drivers dropping the bus off at the district's transportation center, which is located near the site of the spill.

That rerouting is costing the district $4,000 per day in additional time on the clock for drivers, and Enbridge has not confirmed that it will cover those costs, Randa said.