Hwy 35 fuel spill cleanup continues

Three semitrailer loads of equipment were delivered last week as subconsultants began work on a permanent water treatment center off of Montana Highway 35.

The treatment center is part of the ongoing cleanup work of the area off Hwy 35 contaminated by the single truck accident that spilled 6,380 gallons of fuel and forced five south shore families to evacuate their homes.

The Keller Transport Inc. truck’s rear pump tank overturned on April, 2, 2008, on the road nearly 1.5 miles south of Ricciardi’s, shutting down Hwy 35 near mile marker 5.2 for several hours. An Environmental Protection Agency report of the accident said fuel traveled approximately 130 feet south from the point of the accident, and approximately 75 feet north.

A 2,400 square foot building was completed earlier last week and will house the more permanent water treatment equipment. It was built on land leased from the area home owner’s association and will replace the temporary station set up in June. 

“They’re still doing a few things on the exterior this week,” said Jim Rolle, the regional manager for West Central Environmental Consultants, based in Missoula.

WCEC is a subcontractor for the Environment Partners, based in Issaquah, Wash.

Plumbing and electrical control scheme was scheduled to be wired this past Thursday. The treatment system is well on its way to being functional.

 “We’re looking to have water flowing through that system in the first week of February. From there, there’s going to be some tweaking. There’s a lot of operational tweakings that are going to have to happen . . . you’re talking about big equipment,” Rolle said.

WCEC has been monitoring water possible contaminated by the fuel at a temporary testing center since June, Rolle said.

Last April, Lake County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson Carey Cooley said in an interview that four wells had tested positive for contamination and that the water treatment center was being planned for the two creeks that then showed signs of contamination from the spill, spurring the need for the treatment center.

“Where the spill occurred you have fractured bedrock and so when the spill occurred it went directly into the ground and into the fractured bedrock and is actually flowing with the groundwater toward the lake,” EPA project coordinator Donna Inman said.

Inman said the spill has not been found to have effected drinking water, and that component is still being monitored.

The complicated cleanup process continues to keep some families from their homes.

Tom Jones lived in a house off of Hwy 35, down the hill from the fuel spill. He and his wife were evacuated on April 17, 2008.

Jones was walking the frontage road near his home when the tanker spilled.

“I was about 100 feet from the truck (when it spilled),” Jones said as he surveyed the progress of the water treatment building that now sits on land just above his home.

“I couldn’t see it, I just heard it. I walked back to see what the big noise was, and the (truck) driver was just sitting in the cab on the cell phone,” Jones said. “The gas was just streaming out of it . . . Every bit of it drained, practically.”

The Jones were first relocated to a condominium on Rocky Point. They are now living in Ledger on a farm.

The five evacuated homes are in the process of being installed with VRS air abatement and ventilation systems. Jones said he doesn’t know when he and his wife will be able to move back into their home.

Different homes are in different stages of cleanup, Inman said.

A Dec. 17, 2008 technical memorandum from main cleanup contractors Environmental Partners Inc., reported that work was “approximately 40 percent complete with VRS/HRS system installation on the Jones residence.”

Jones said he didn’t think any tests had been done yet on the air quality in his home since last summer.

“The air abatement system has to run about 30 days before they can do follow up testing,” Inman said.  “The contractor is about to do testing on the most southern house to make sure the house is safe to be lived in again.”

Two houses, the systems are in, but alternate cleanup, which will attempt to eliminate fume contamination of carpets and rugs, is ongoing. Air abatement system installation just began in two homes, Inman said.

Interceptor trenches to collect ground water to be tested in the facilities were installed in October, Inman said. Treated from the trenches at the center will be released into the lake.

Water testing practices must comply with the permit given by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. This includes monitoring the amount of flow through the station, as well as weekly testing and monthly reports, Rolle said.

The permit was signed on Dec. 30 and went into effect on Jan. 1. Inman said the treatment center will operate for at least four years.