Source of Ohio oil spill sought

CLEVELAND, July 2 (UPI) -- Officials with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District say they are investigating claims a storm sewer network was to blame for a major oil spill.

Frank Foley, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's environmental services director, said while an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency investigation is focused on the 9-mile-long storm sewer network, regional officials remain unconvinced, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer said Wednesday.

"A number of things just don't add up," Foley said. "Yes, we're investigating our own sewer, but we're also going forward with the possibility that it came from somewhere else -- we just don't know where."

Hundreds of gallons of oil spilled into the Cuyahoga River on June 24. The incident left more than 500 seagulls dead, the Plain Dealer said.

EPA investigator Jim Irwin said the birds' deaths brought the oil spill to the attention of agency officials.

"We haven't had a single legitimate tip on this one so far, either," Irwin told the newspaper. "Frankly, we may never solve this -- and if there hadn't been seagulls there, we would have never heard about it to begin with."