JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Department of Natural Resources dispatched an emergency responder Saturday to investigate the return of petroleum vapors and gasoline to a Mississippi County convenience store that had been the site of a 17,000-gallon fuel leak in 2003.

The department’s Environmental Emergency Response section was contacted Saturday by a city wastewater official concerning the return of gasoline odors and evidence of petroleum product resurfacing from the ground at the Eastside Convenience Store, 901 W. Highway 80, East Prairie.

Gasoline is no longer sold at the convenience store, which was the site of the estimated 17,000-gallon leak in March 2003.

An emergency responder dispatched from the department’s Southeast Region Office in Poplar Bluff determined that the remnants of that leak have been pushed to the surface by high groundwater.

The responder placed absorbent pads at the scene to collect the gasoline.

Air monitoring conducted at the scene confirmed the presence of gasoline vapors but not in levels that would pose a threat of explosion.