 "Photo: Peter Franklin")
The city of Austin uncovered the mystery owner of the tank that caused January's 10,000-gallon oil spill downtown.
The Littlefield Building on Sixth Street is the proprietor of the tank. City of Austin spokesperson Lynne Lightsey said Austin Watershed Protection found documents at the Austin History Center and University libraries that said the building had requested the tank to be installed at a city council meeting in December of 1910.
Since the specific owner of the tank has not been determined, the property owner where the tank is located is responsible, unless he or she can show legal documentation, such as a deed reservation, invoice or bill of sale, said Terry Clawson, spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
"The Littlefield Building will continue to investigate the oil spill incident and how best to address the clean-up and remediation of the spill," building owner Austin Littlefield said in a statement. "We are in communication with both the city of Austin and the Driskill Hotel, and until a definitive conclusion can be reached regarding the source and ownership of the oil spill, we do not feel it is appropriate to comment further."
Lightsey said the tanks were used for heating and lighting purposes in downtown Austin more than 100 years ago. The tank had been ignored until early January when a waterline broke, which pushed water into the tank.
The Daily Texan reported in January that the leak closed Sixth Street between Brazos and Congress streets most of the night Jan. 10, and some businesses were forced to shutdown. The spill leaked into Waller Creek and left no immediate effects but will damage the ecosystem in the long run.
The city of Austin has not determined yet if there are any other tanks underground that could cause additional spills.
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