THE ROLLOVER RISKS OF TANKER TRUCKS ARE SIGNIFICANT: 1,200 GALLON SONOMA COAST GASOLINE TANKER SPILL AS THE DRIVER MADE A SLIGHT TURN
February 7,
2015
SONOMA, CALIFORNIA:
Recent rain
on the Sonoma Coast appears to have helped mitigate fallout from an overturned
tanker that leaked an estimated 1,200 gallons of gasoline off Highway 1 onto
the surrounding landscape and into the ocean near Jenner on Sunday morning.
Though fuel
did reach the surf, it got there in a fast-moving seasonal creek swollen with
runoff that would have diluted the substance even before it reached the roiling
ocean, said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman, who responded to the accident.
Gasoline
also evaporates more quickly than diesel or other oily fuels that can leave a
slick or sheen on the ocean surface, said Alexia Retallack, a spokeswoman for
the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
The result
is there appeared to be no impact on wildlife from the incident, though work
crews and agency personnel remained on the scene Monday excavating fuel-soaked
soils and ensuring no further contamination occurred, Retallack said.
That could
take a few days, as any contaminated earth near or beneath the roadbed needs to
be moved very carefully to prevent seepage or spread, she said.
The soil
then needs to be replaced with clean material, she said. Caltrans was expected
to have to replace part of the highway, as well, since gasoline degrades
asphalt, authorities said.
Traffic on
Highway 1 was to be reduced to one-way controlled traffic through the area in
the meantime, the CHP said.
But despite
the continued inconvenience to motorists and local residents, who endured
complete closure of the highway for nearly 20 hours Sunday, there was good news
in the spill’s limited residual effects on- and offshore.
“We don’t
have any wildlife impacts that have been reported right now,” Retallack said.
“There was some vegetation that got material on it. But with the heavy rains,
it got flushed very quickly.”
The spill
occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday when a northbound trucker driving a fully
loaded fuel transport rig entered a slight left curve near Meyer’s Grade Road
and allowed his right front tire to drop onto the earthen shoulder, according
to the CHP.
The driver,
Terry Lippolis, of Grants Pass, Ore., managed to get the truck back on the
road, the CHP said. But he was towing a tank trailer and its tires slid into a
culvert, causing the entire rig to overturn.
Lippolis’
total load was 8,800 gallons, but only one compartment in the rear tank
ruptured, limiting the spill to 1,200 gallons, authorities said.
A host of
emergency personnel responded, including CHP, Cal Fire, Monte Rio and Russian
River fire personnel, hazardous materials teams from Sonoma and Napa counties,
California State Parks personnel, the U.S. Coast Guard, the state Department of
Fish and Wildlife, and a representative from the Governor’s Office of Emergency
Services.
Baxman, who
was among the initial responders, said it was pouring rain as crews worked to
contain the spilled fuel. Much of it flowed into a steep ditch alongside the
highway about 30 feet above a culvert under the road. The culvert channeled the
fuel directly into the fast-moving stream, down about 200 feet to the beach and
another 100 or 200 feet into the ocean.
“That
seasonal creek is flowing pretty hot and heavy ‘cause it was raining like
heck,” Baxman said. “You may find traces in the ocean, but it’s going to be so
little. And then the ocean was a little rough, so that’s going to chop it up.”
Retallack
said local Fish and Wildlife wardens collaborated with a member of the agency’s
Office of Spill Prevention and Response soon after the event to follow spill
protocols. She said a good deal of tainted soil was removed by hand Sunday.
She said
she did not expect any long-term impacts like fuel along the shore or ill
effects for birds or other wildlife.
“They’ll be
looking for that,” she said of the wardens, “but they (any wildlife) would have
had to have had immediate contact and exposure. And we had the storms, we had a
lot of water, we had a lot of things that would have affected how much went
where and how diluted it was.
“At this
point in time, the only thing they are dealing with is the soil,” she said.
The Napa
Interagency Hazard Team (NIHT) assisted Sunday in mitigating the environmental
impacts of a tanker truck gasoline spill on Highway 1 near Jenner.
The
eight-member team helped the Sonoma team drill the truck and trailer and
transferred 6,800 gallons of fuel to another truck, CalFire reported.
An
estimated 1,200 gallons of gasoline leaked from the a tank trailer that slid
into a culvert, officials said.
The NIHT is
composed of personnel from several Napa County agencies. The members responding
to this call were from Napa County Fire Department and American Canyon Fire
Protection District.