A north Bismarck gas station had to turn off one of its pumps after a fuel leak was discovered in the basement of a neighboring building.

The leak was fixed, but not before an unknown amount of gasoline seeped into the ground. The spill could take years to clean up, a state health official said Thursday.

Leon Vetter, a scientist with the North Dakota Department of Health, said the fuel likely came from the Best Stop gas station on East Interstate Avenue. He said the leak was at least 100 gallons, but could be more than 1,000.

"The owner isn't able to determine how big it is," Vetter said. "Once it's in the ground, to get a reliable estimate is very difficult. Whatever's out there, we're going to clean it up no matter how much it is."

And the bill for the cleanup probably will be sent to Best Stop owner Tom Fetsch.

Fetsch on Thursday said he wasn't sure the gasoline came from his station, but said that wasn't the important thing at the moment. He said liability concerns should be put on hold until the public's safety can be assured. Fumes from the gas were present in the basement of the nearby China Star Restaurant, which was how the leak was found.

"I'm less concerned about myself than Iam what could happen to someone else," Fetsch said. "The emphasis right now has been on getting the problem cleaned up for the China Star, and there's less of an emphasis on everything else."

The health department and Bismarck Fire Department have said the restaurant is safe. Vetter said a downstairs banquet room had to be closed to the public until a ventilation system can be installed this weekend. Otherwise, he said, it's business as usual at the Chinese buffet.

The restaurant's owner, Jeff Lam, isn't thrilled about the publicity. He said the spill hasn't affected anything there, including the number of customers. Business is good, he said.

"Everything is pretty much cleaned up, and the health department said everything is OK,"Lam said.

There is a high water table under the restaurant, Vetter said. A plumber working on sump pumps there Sept. 21 smelled gasoline fumes and called the health department. Investigators found gasoline in each of five sump pumps.

"That's when we went to the gas station next door, and sure enough, in one of their pumps they had a leak,"Vetter said. "They shut that pump down and got the leak fixed."

Vetter said soil samples were taken at other gas stations in the area, and the evidence pointed to Best Stop.

Bids will be let by Nov. 26 to find an environmental consultant that can come up with a plan to clean up the spill.

"It's pretty complicated," Vetter said. "You can't just stick a well in the ground and suck out the gas. Once the gasoline got in the ground, it's very difficult to remove it without actually physically digging it out, which might be an option. The cleanup process will typically take many years."

Vetter said computer controls that detect leaks on underground gas tanks appeared to have malfunctioned at Best Stop. That makes it difficult to determine how much gasoline might have been lost. The station did a good job keeping inventory, he said, so maybe that will lead to an answer.

Fetsch said he isn't convinced his station is the source of the spill, but reiterated that wasn't his primary concern.

"The who, what, where is kicked to the back burner, because we're concerned about the safety of the employees and the customers over there (at China Star)," Fetsch said.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)