NAMPA, Idaho — A diesel spill from a 10,000 gallon above ground tank from a trucking yard has contaminated three miles of Mason Creek in Nampa, an 18.2 mile tributary to the Boise River. According to Nampa Fire Department Battalion Chief, Keith Elkins, crews were called to the scene on the afternoon of Saturday, Mar. 24.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Idaho Office of Emergency Management are still on the scene to work on containment and assessing the situation.
KTVB spoke to EPA spokesman Bill Dunbar, he said the leak from the ground tank has been contained and the trucking company has taken responsibility and is actively helping with the response. The company has not been named at this time.
Dunbar said they discovered a valve was inadvertently left open, and the safety system that would have prevented it from leaking failed. Moving forward, the EPA's plan is to look for any diesel accumulations in the 3 mile stretch and remove those, by using boons, large paper towels that can soak up the gas and even large vacuums may be brought in. Diesel is a gas so it evaporates fairly quickly, and even evaporates out of soil, so it's not as dire as an oil spill.
"Sheen and odor from the diesel is apparent from the trucking yard’s stormwater outfall throughout the length of the creek which empties into the Boise River, about three miles downstream,' Dunbar said. "Responders have placed boom at the outfall and another location further downstream and are searching for accumulations of diesel that can be safely retrieved from the rain-swollen creek."
The department will also be looking for any diesel in the Boise River and also remove it. The EPA is advising people to keep pets and livestock away from the creek until further notice.
According to Dunbar, the company knew of the leak and had been trying to repair it. The diesel seeped into the soil and was pushed into the ground further by the recent rain. Dunbar added that although they don't have an exact estimate of damage at this time, diesel spreads easily and can appear like a larger amount than it is.
"A little goes a long way," Dunbar said, "just a drop on a still lake, and the sheen can go on and on. A little bit of fuel can look and smell like a lot of fuel."
The smell and sheen is something that Caldwell resident, Erica Nabel is still noticing today. She said the night of the spill the smell was crazy and there is a lot of wildlife around that seem to be affected.
"Our neighbor called us to tell us she was told tons and tons of gallons of diesel went into Mason Creek," she said. "We had to hurry and move our horses, and phoned a neighbor to tell him so he could move his cows."
Nabel was able to get her animals away from the creek and put up a temporary fence to keep them out of it, but she's still worried about the other wildlife.
"There's a lot of wildlife around, wild turkeys, heron, geese," Nabel said. "Our neighbor saw some poor little weasel looking critter climb out of the water."
Dunbar said as the diesel keeps evaporating the odor of gas will remain strong but is not a health risk. As for the length of the cleanup and the amount of damage, the EPA stated they will have more answers as the investigation continues.
KTVB will update this story as information becomes available.
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