Components of gasoline leaking from Colonial Pipeline's Line 1 have been detected in a second containment pond at an inactive mine site in Shelby County, according to a report from Department of Transportation pipeline regulators.

According to the report, Colonial employees originally believed nearly all the leaked gasoline was contained in Pond 2, a retention pond built for the mine. Late last week Colonial discovered traces of gasoline in Pond 3, only a few feet away from Pond 2, and found an underwater culvert connecting the two ponds.

Representatives from Colonial Pipeline and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency clarified that report Monday, saying that there was no gasoline in Pond 3, but that their sampling had indicated only the broken-down constituents of gasoline.

"We don't have what we would call free product, or gasoline, that would float on the water or a sheen on Pond 3 and we never have," Colonial Pipeline spokesman Don Pozin said. "What we have in Pond 3 are detections of dissolved constituents that we agree are likely there because of the spill."

EPA on-scene coordinator Kevin Eichinger said the components of broken down gasoline had been detected as the DOT report stated, but that it was happening at "very low, parts-per-billion levels."

"Pond 2 is definitely contaminated, and Pond 3 is impacted, but it's definitely not the same level as Pond 2," he said.

Eichinger said EPA and Colonial are actively sampling the water around the leak site and downstream of the ponds and that none of the gasoline or constituents has reached nearby Peel Creek, a tributary of the Cahaba River.

"There have been no indications of product past Pond 3," Pozin said. "We've sampled in the Cahaba and in Peel Creek and there's no indication of any product downstream of Pond 3."

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a part of the DOT, issued the preliminary findings as part of a Corrective Action Order issued to Colonial Pipeline Friday.

The pipeline has spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline and caused a ripple effect of gas shortages and price increases throughout northern Alabama, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Colonial Pipeline announced Saturday that the company would build a temporary bypass pipeline around the leaking section. The company expects the line to restart through the bypass this week.

The DOT order provided additional details about the leaking pipe, environmental impacts observed at the scene as well as a detailed timeline of the response.

Timeline of the leak

According to the documents, Colonial Pipeline was notified of a potential leak by the Alabama Surface Mining Commission at 11:10 a.m. on Sept. 9, and within 20 minutes had initiated a shutdown of its two pipelines in the area, which the documents said are about 40 feet apart at the assumed location of the leak.

Colonial employees confirmed the leak and found one rabbit and three raccoons dead at the site.

Later that afternoon, the company determined the leak was in Line 1, which remained shut down while Line 2 was returned to service around 9 p.m.

Around 8 p.m. central time on Sept. 9, the Pelham Fire Department determined the benzene and gasoline fumes near the assumed site of the leak had reached unsafe levels, and "suspended all activity and evacuated all persons" from the assumed leak site and a nearby retention pond, Pond 2, that collected much of the spilled gas.

Pond 2 is located about 460 feet away from the assumed leak site.

The fire department did not clear workers to return to the leak site until Tuesday, Sept. 12, more than three days later.

Where is the leak?

The leak site is about six miles west of Alabaster, north of Coalmont Road (CR 91). It's about four miles from Helena High School and Helena Middle School and about 20 miles from Birmingham.

The Cahaba River is about one mile away. The embedded map below shows the approximate location of the assumed leak site.

What's next?

The Department of Transportation will have to give its approval before Colonial can restart the pipeline, which Colonial believes will happen this week.

PHMSA personnel are on the scene to investigate the cause of the leak as soon as the leaky pipeline can be excavated. Colonial began digging out the damaged pipe on Friday, but soon after halted that process to focus efforts on building the bypass line.

"[Excavation] work will continue, just at a more cautious pace when the bypass has been completed and the line is running again," Pozin said.

The recovery of gasoline from the ponds has continued as conditions allow, Pozin said. As of Thursday morning, Colonial had recovered almost 55,000 gallons of gasoline from Pond 2, and about 37,000 gallons from inside the isolated section of pipeline containing the leak.

Pozin said an updated estimate was not available yet, as much of what is being collected is a water-gasoline mix, which has to be treated at Colonial's Pelham storage tank facility.

*UPDATED at 7:45 p.m. to clarify that only components of gasoline were found in Pond 3.