DEQ: ‘Extremely low’ fuel levels in N. Santiam from tanker crash, spill
Highway 22 closed until at least Friday evening for cleanup, repairs
IDANHA, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Federal, state and local responders continue to clean up spilled fuel and contaminated soil along the banks of the North Santiam River near Idanha, east of Salem and Detroit Lake, on state Highway 22 from last Sunday's fuel tanker crash, officials said Thursday.
The agencies responsible for managing the response are monitoring water quality in the area of the tanker crash.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said the latest water sampling data from the North Santiam River following the crash and spill shows petroleum-related chemicals are present at levels that decrease with distance downstream from the site.
Except for at the immediate crash site, "all water samples contained extremely low levels of petroleum-related chemicals, at concentrations far below safe drinking water levels," DEQ said in an update Thursday.
Petroleum contaminants in river water that may reach drinking water intakes downstream are expected to remain below regulatory standards, the agency said.
Communities closest to the spill pull drinking water from tributaries to the river and not the North Santiam itself. The nearest drinking water intake on the North Santiam is 25 miles downstream from the spill site and below Detroit Lake.
The agencies responsible for managing the response continue to monitor the nine surface water sample locations along the river daily. The DEQ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Space Age Fuel, the owner of the tanker, are working closely with the Oregon Health Authority and downstream water providers to protect drinking water intakes and provide information to water supply systems.
Cleanup crews continue digging up and hauling away petroleum contaminated soil. On Wednesday, the cleanup crews were running 48 dump trucks so excavation and backfilling the roadway with clean soil is progressing quickly.
Crews are working 12-hour shifts to clean up the spill and prevent gasoline and diesel from entering the river. As of Wednesday, the crews had dug up and hauled away about 2,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Dump trucks are taking the contaminated soil to Coffin Butte Landfill near Corvallis.
The spill occurred at about 8 a.m. Sunday, when a double tanker truck carrying gasoline and diesel overturned, releasing an estimated 7,800 gallons of petroleum products into the soil at the crash site.
Cleanup crews have recovered about 2,800 gallons of the spilled fuel. Booms and absorbent material are in place along the riverbank to catch fuel and remove spilled fuel for disposal.
A nearly 30-mile stretch of the highway remains closed from the town of Idanha to the highway’s Santiam Junction with U.S. Highway 20, west of Santiam Pass.
The Oregon Department of Transportation estimates that the highway will remain closed until at least Friday evening. Traffic between Willamette Valley and Central Oregon should take alternate routes. Check TripCheck.com for the latest traffic conditions.
ODOT and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are assisting with the response. Other involved agencies include the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Department of Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
