Excavation equipment strikes Eagan pipeline, sends 21,000 gallons of gasoline into lot

A pipeline in Eagan leaked about 21,000 gallons of gasoline after being pierced by a drill Monday, prompting street closures and the temporary evacuation of nearby businesses.

The 12-inch pipeline that originates at a tank farm in Rosemount was struck just before 1 p.m. by a contractor using "mechanized drilling equipment," according to Magellan Midstream Partners, the pipeline's operator. The unaffiliated contractor was not working on the pipeline, according to Magellan.

The ruptured pipeline leaked into the parking lot of a Life Time fitness center at 1565 Thomas Center Drive, according to Eagan police. The pipeline was shut off and Life Time was evacuated. No one was injured, the company said.

More than 50 Magellan employees, emergency responders, regulators and environmental specialists were at the site Monday evening, the company said. Clean-up was expected to go into the night.

Police said the intersection of Thomas Lake Road and Thomas Center Drive was closed as the cleanup continued.

Tulsa-based Magellan says on its website that it's the nation's largest common pipeline carrier of refined fuels and liquid natural gas. It has at least six refined fuel terminals in Minnesota. Magellan said it doesn't expect any supply disruptions due to the Eagan leak.

A Magellan pipeline in Worth County, Iowa, which borders Minnesota, ruptured last March and spilled almost 47,000 gallons of diesel fuel in a farm field. The company said that leak occurred when a pipeline was breached by a third party contractor.

In October 2016, a Magellan pipeline leaked 35,000 gallons of biodiesel near Mankato, according data from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. No cause for that spill was available.

Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003