Fuel seeping into the sump pump at St. Mary's Central High School is still in remediation.

The school first noticed the fuel in December, Superintendent John Jankowski said. He referred further comment to the North Dakota Department of Health. The department is handling remediation.

"We're not entirely sure what happened," health department scientist Leon Vetter said.

One possibility is seepage from an old fuel leak from an underground tank north of the school, and the other possibility is gasoline being pulled into the soil when the water main broke at Arrowhead Plaza Shopping Center in November, he said.

The school noticed the fuel in the drain tile and sump pump of its boiler room below its garage. The boiler room is about 20 feet below grade. The fuel and the vapor are contained to that area. The health department is using money from the Environmental Protection Agency set aside for remediation without a responsible party, Vetter said.

Remediation at the school has meant containing the water, pumping it out and discharging it to the sanitary sewer, Vetter said. The department will continue this until there is no fuel in the water. They also have tested the air quality in the school. It is fine in the school; however, it is being filtered in the boiler room.

They have not had any homeowners complain of fuel or fuel vapors in their basements, Vetter said. This is because fuel does not travel far from its source, and it is traveling deeper than the depth of most basements, he said.

Vetter does not know when the remediation at St. Mary's will be complete. Even after it is done, there will be monitoring, he said.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)