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Drilling mishap during bridge construction leads to sewage spill in eastern Pennsylvania river

TAMAQUA, Pa. — State officials say they are investigating how workers in eastern Pennsylvania accidentally drilled through a concrete pipe, triggering a sewage spill into a local waterway.

Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Colleen Connolly says up to 1.8 million gallons of sewage leaked into the Little Schuylkill (SKOO'-kull) River in Tamaqua on Wednesday.

According to a Transportation Department spokesman, workers drilled through the pipe while sinking a caisson for a temporary bridge on Route 309.

Connolly says the pollution didn't appear to cause a fish kill.

Connolly says the pollution didn't appear to cause a fish kill. She says officials have not yet decided whether to assess penalties.

The Standard-Speaker of Hazleton reports (http://bit.ly/JDmsIY ) that contractors finished patching the concrete pipe on Thursday.

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Information from: Standard-Speaker, http://www.standardspeaker.com


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