Former Driver Blames Delta Oil, Not Burgess For Northport Spill

NORTHPORT, AL — Hamilton native Joseph Ellis wasn't sheepish about his experiences when he spoke to Patch this week, levying accusations that Delta Oil Services was the sole party responsible for a recently-discovered chemical spill in Northport that has prompted a federal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The site of the spill is on property adjacent to Burgess Truck & Equipment Repair, which has been on the receiving end of criticism from residents of surrounding neighborhoods due to a lingering smell in the area that has yet to be explained, as well as potential pollution to stream water and air due to the spill.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

"About four or five weeks ago, when all of this first started happening, I got out of there," Ellis told Patch on Wednesday.

The former truck driver went on to say illegal dumping went on at the southern end of the Burgess property for the two years he worked for Delta Oil Services, which specializes in fuel transportation and disposal of used oil. The illegal dumping, he said, was done under the direction of his supervisor, Logan Hayes — the brother of Delta Oil President Lucas Hayes.

Delta Oil was reportedly renting space to park its trucks from Burgess during this time.

Ellis also pointed out that in addition to the petroleum products transported in the company's two trucks that were normally parked at the Burgess site, Delta Oil Service also began picking up roughly 1,200-1,500 gallons of solvent mixture each week. This is consistent with a past report from Patch, when Northport Fire Chief Bart Marshall confirmed a type of solvent was thought to be among the chemicals involved in the spill.

Delta Oil Services was mentioned by name and said to have two trucks on the property when Northport Fire Rescue first announced a federal criminal investigation into the spill. However, officials have been wary to cast public blame for the spill on either of the two companies.

The mixture, Ellis went on to explain, is comprised of water, solvent and mineral spirits. This combination, along with fuel runoff, is what the former driver said was potentially dumped into the creek countless times over the last couple of years. Over that time, he said the company expanded from transporting waste oil to other petroleum products such as diesel and jet fuel, along with large quantities of solvent mixture.

"It was no kind of accident," he said. "It was deliberate. A lot of times, [Logan Hayes] would make sure Mr. Burgess was not around, and if not, he would do it after hours."

While he was quick to aim responsibility for the spill at Delta Oil, the optics have been far from favorable for the company that owns the property. This is due in part to a 2014 oil spill at the exact same site that became the focus of an investigation by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Patch previously reported a list of corrective measures was provided to Burgess Truck & Equipment Repair, with the company responding a few months later with photos showing the steps it had taken to address the areas of concern.

On Wednesday, I spoke with an attorney for Wade Burgess, the trucking repair company's owner, who said Burgess was in the process of installing cameras and taking other protective steps to ensure a more watchful eye on his business in the future following the current spill that's being addressed.

Burgess' attorney also said the company is working closely with ADEM and Spectrum Environmental Services to clean up the site and hopes to see a resolution soon as the investigation appears to have turned its focus toward Delta Oil.

Ellis adamantly defended Burgess' lack of involvement, as have others speaking on behalf of the trucking repair company, which does not have on-site access to the amount of petroleum products, especially solvent mixture, spilled over such a long period of time at the site.

"[Burgess] had absolutely nothing do with it and no knowledge of it and he’s getting the blame for it all," he said. "The blame should 100% be on Delta. I’m not going to cover for either one of them, but there’s no sense in an innocent man being blamed for something he had no knowledge of."

The accusations continued on, as Ellis said he quit the company after it failed to properly mark the its trucks after they started transporting products other than used oil. Logan Hayes is the brother of Delta Oil Services President Lucas Hayes.

"I told [Logan Hayes] I didn’t want any part of it ... this isn’t right," he said, before mentioning a friend in law enforcement pointed to the lack of proper signage on the Delta Oil vehicles."The trailer says 'used oil' but it could be gas, fuel, mineral spirits, and doesn’t have any hazmat [signage] or anything properly marking the truck."

While I was able to make contact with Delta Oil Services, my requests for comment from Logan Hayes or any other representatives from the company had not been returned by the deadline for this story.

"I don’t want to see anybody get in trouble, but that was a bad mistake on his part for dumping that and I had a feeling it was going into the water source," Ellis said. "I hate it for everybody involved and I was involved in it, too. I don’t have any hard feelings against Logan or Delta Oil and I enjoyed working there, but we did a lot of things we shouldn’t have been doing and I don’t think Wade Burgess should be held responsible for something he had no knowledge of."

Here's a timeline of event's leading up to today

March 16 — Northport Police Department takes to Facebook to ask for the public's help identifying the source of a foul, chemical smell in the vicinity of Huntington Place.

April 15 — Northport Fire Rescue receives call of an odor from Fairwood Drive in Huntington. Crews arrive on seen, walk the wood line and discover the source of the odor and black sludge appear to be petroleum. NFR returns later that night after it was discovered that the property is under the jurisdiction of Tuscaloosa County, so normal protocol is followed and Tuscaloosa County EMA is contacted.

April 16 — ADEM arrives at spill site. Emergency officials then find that the owner of Burgess Truck & Equipment Repair is out of town and Miller Petroleum, which had two trucks parked near the site of the spill, also declined to take responsibility for the spill. State officials contact the EPA.

April 17 — Tuscaloosa Patch is first made aware of spill and receives photos of black sludge gathering in stream water. Upon the first visit to the site, dead foliage and undergrowth is visible near the south end of the Burgess property, which meets with backyards on Palmetto Street in Huntington Gardens. Spectrum Environmental Services arrives on scene after being hired by Burgess to begin cleanup efforts.

April 24 — Northport Fire Chief Bart Marshall confirms spill, but stops short of naming Burgess Truck & Equipment Repair as being responsible. A resident takes Tuscaloosa Patch to the spill site for the first time. (More on Patch)

April 25 — City of Northport cites Burgess as the location of the spill, in addition to confirming an investigation by state and federal officials. Northport Councilwoman Jamie Dykes discusses spill with Tuscaloosa Patch. (More on Patch)

April 26 — Residents watched as heavy machinery from Spectrum Environmental Services blocked the wooded walking path used to access the spill site. Residents of Palmetto Street continue to express frustration at the lack of prior notification once the spill had been identified.

April 27 — Patch obtains ADEM complaint on a past oil spill at the same site dating back to 2014. Burgess Trucking & Equipment Repair was not formally cited or fined, rather given a list of corrective measures by the state, to which Burgess reportedly complied. (More on Patch)

If you are one of the residents impacted by this spill and want to share your story or have questions/concerns, please email me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.