Cleanup plan in the works for diesel spill on U.S. 12

KAMIAH, Idaho – The initial work to contain a diesel fuel spill following an accident on U.S. Highway 12 near here is complete, but it will likely be at least a week if not longer before full-scale remediation gets underway.

On Thursday, a 5,000-gallon pup trailer being hauled by one of Atkinson Distributing’s tanker trucks hit a rock in the roadway and blew a tire. The trailer went off the road, was punctured and then overturned on the highway after clipping a roadside culvert. No one was injured in the accident.

The Kamiah Fire Department, Clearwater Environmental, a firm that specializes in fuel spill cleanup, and Atkinson employees pumped the remaining fuel out of the trailer and placed fuel-absorbing booms on the road and in the river. The Idaho Hazardous Material Regional Response Team at Lewiston arrived later and augmented containment equipment.

Earl Liverman, an on-scene coordinator from the EPA, said there is about 1,500 to 1,700 gallons of fuel in the soil beside the highway and on the banks of the river. He worked with a team that included representatives from several states, federal and tribal agencies at the scene Friday to develop a strategy to remove the contaminated soil.

But before that work can start, several steps must be taken, ranging from securing water quality permits to archeological assessments and soil testing.

Liverman said the amount of fuel that could continue to leach into the river during the delay is a concern, but he added it is more important to make sure the work is done properly and without creating a bigger problem.

John Cardwell of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality at Lewiston said downstream water utilities and fish hatcheries that draw from the river were notified following the accident. The department ran worst-case scenario models of the spill that assumed all 1,800 gallons had reached the river. Even if that happened, Cardwell said, the models showed the plume would have diluted and not posed a significant problem to downstream water users.

The contaminated soil on both sides of the highway and beneath the road surface will likely be removed once the work begins.