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DEQ Update On Tanker Truck Spill

From The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Statewide, OR—Feb. 17 12:30 p.m.: UPDATE on North Santiam River Tanker Spill

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality continues to oversee cleanup and monitoring near the site of a Feb. 16 truck crash and fuel release on Highway 22 about 60 miles east of Salem.

Of the 10,600 gallons of fuel on board the double tanker, 7,871 gallons spilled and the remaining fuel was recovered. Fuel is discharging from the bank of the North Santiam River and a sheen is visible for a few hundred feet downstream of the crash site.

Crews began excavating contaminated material this morning and will evaluate disposal options.

About 400 feet of hard boom and other absorbent materials are in the river to contain and collect fuel. DEQ will continue to monitor potential impacts to fish and wildlife at and downstream of the site. There have been no reports of impacts to drinking water supplies in the area.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s On-Scene Coordinator and contractors are providing the water sampling data for hydrocarbon by-products at two- and four-mile intervals in the North Santiam River downstream of the crash site.

Oregon Highway 22 will remain closed to through traffic from just west of Idanha to the junction with U.S. 20 (milepost 53-81) until at least Friday or Saturday of this week, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. This morning, ODOT was able to assess the damage and determined that it will take several days to remove contaminated soil and repair the road where the truck crashed.

An area of roadway about 600 feet long needs to be excavated and rebuilt. Motorists traveling to and from the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon can use U.S. 20 and OR 126E as alternative routes.

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