Cleanup continues

John Davis, Smith & Company employee, measures the gasoline and water levels of one of the 15 recovery wells around the East Side Store on West Highway 80 in East Prairie Tuesday.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources was notified in May by the owner, Jeff Hedges, of what he suspected was a leak from a gasoline storage tank. A car hit the dispenser in March and knocked off a valve causing more than 15,000 gallons to saturate the surrounding soil. The cleanup started Sunday, which the DNR is calling the largest spill associated with a gas station in Missouri's history.