8,000 gallons of gasoline fuel spill from speeding tanker truck crash into Foundain Creek in Colorado Springs, killing thousand of fish

Associated Press , KUSA 8:41 PM. MDT August 26, 2016


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A tanker truck crash in Colorado Springs has spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline into a creek, killing a slew of fish.

The Gazette reports the truck hit a parked vehicle in the southern part of the city and rolled onto its side Friday morning, spilling about 8,000 gallons of fuel into Fountain Creek.

Kyle Davidson, a spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, says cleanup crews were pulling dead fish out of the creek "by the bucket."

The agency expects to know exactly how many fish were killed and which species were most affected in a few days. The creek is home to numerous fish, including longnose dace, white suckers and fathead minnows.

The Environmental Protection Agency is using vacuum trucks to suck up the gasoline.

Police believe speed played a role in the crash.




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Motor City in Colorado Springs reopens Friday after fuel spill
Tanker overturns in front of dealership, driver taken to hospital

Scott Harrison, Multimedia Journalist, s.harrison@krdo.com
POSTED: 07:58 AM MDT Aug 26, 2016 UPDATED: 09:37 PM MDT Aug 26, 2016



Fuel Spill Shuts Down Motor City in Colorado Springs Friday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

An area of auto dealerships and related businesses reopened Friday afternoon, more than nine hours after an overturned tanker spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.





Fountain Creek was threatened by Friday's fuel spill in Colorado Springs.



Authorities urged people to avoid contact with Fountain Creek after Friday's fuel spill. This is the Hanson Trailhead in Fountain.

The spill happened around 4 a.m. on Motor City Drive in front of the Suss Superstore on Motor City Drive in south Colorado Springs.

"I was parked behind him," said a delivery driver who witnessed the crash. "He went around a curve and was going too fast."

Authorities cited speed as an apparent factor.

The tanker flipped after striking a parked, unoccupied vehicle, authorities said, and slid into a curb, spilling fuel from ruptured compartments inside the tanker.

Authorities said when they arrived, fuel was draining into the stormwater system through a nearby storm drain.

Part of Motor City Drive was closed because of the risk of explosions.

"We think the tanker was holding 8,000 gallons and the cleanup crew recovered around 1,000 gallons," said Capt. Steve Wilch of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. "Some, but not all, of the fuel drained into Fountain Creek."

Several private contractors, financed by the owner of the overturned tanker, contained as much of the spill as possible and removed it from the scene.

Wilch said the driver was taken to Memorial Hospital in stable condition. His name hadn't been released as of late Friday night.

A coalition of local, state and federal officials are involved in testing the water in Fountain Creek for the presence of fuel, and taking measures to contain it if found.

Authorities patrolled the creek from the spill site to Fountain and alerted municipalities as far south as Pueblo, warning people to stay away from the creek.

As of late Friday night, there was no word of any fuel being found.

"There are catchment basins within the stormwater system, said Chief Ted Collas of the Colorado Springs Fire Department. "So we'll have to see how much can be pumped out of that, to know how much was contained and how much was ultimately released."

The accident forced the closure of many Motor City businesses until the street reopened around 1:15 Friday afternoon.

"I came here to have an appointment for the recall service on my car and everything was closed," said Fanc Chu. "I'll have to make an appointment again. It's kind of not good. I waited three weeks for that appointment."

Some dealerships closed entirely, with not even clerks at desks or mechanics in garages. Others, like Heuberger Motors, tried to help customers from the parking lot and along part of the detour.

"We've lost a half a day," said Mike Jorgensen, owner of Red Noland Cadillac. "You don't get those back, especially going into the weekend. People wanted to get out of town and maybe have a few things done to their car, or get a new car for a weekend trip. So we're going to be scrambling (Friday) afternoon and it's going to put a little more pressure on (Saturday)."

Federal and state OSHA violations, even those being contested, will have to be reported to federal contracting authorities starting in 2017

August 26, 2016
Federal Contract Bidders to Report OSHA Violations in Rule



By Bruce Rolfsen

Aug. 25 — Federal and state OSHA violations, even those being contested, will have to be reported to federal contracting authorities starting in 2017 under requirements set by regulations and guidance issued Aug. 24 for the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order (E.O. 13,673).

The final rule will apply to prime contractors, as well as their subcontractors, seeking federal contracts worth $500,000 or more once the rule (81 Fed. Reg. 58,562) is completely phased in Oct. 25, 2017.

The OSHA violation reporting is part of a larger mandate from the Department of Labor and Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council that includes requirements to notify contracting offices of other workplace enforcement actions such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and equal employment opportunity violations.

Bloomberg BNA requested to talk with OSHA officials Aug. 24 about implementing the rule and assisting employers, however the agency didn’t provide a representative.

The guidance (81 Fed. Reg. 58,654) says employers need to report any federal OSHA serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violation issued within three years prior to the federal government offering the contract.

There is a one-time exception to the three-year window. Because the rule (RIN:9000-AM81) takes effect Oct. 25, 2016, citations issued before the effective date don’t have to be reported, the guidance says.
State Plan Violations Count

State plan violations that are the equivalent of serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violation must also be reported, the guidance says.

Some employer representatives sought to exclude violations issued by state workplace safety agencies because state rules sometimes set requirements that are different or stricter than federal rules.

The Labor Department disagreed.

“The Department finds State Plans to be equivalent to the OSH Act because they perform the same functions as OSHA—setting standards, conducting enforcement inspections, and issuing citations,” the department’s guidance says.

Failing to include state plans would lead to a gap in disclosure for safety-and-health violations in the more than 20 states and territories covered by the executive order. “Including the State Plans results in a more level playing field than would excluding them,” the guidance says.
Serious Discussion

Employer representatives had objected to the requirement to report all serious OSHA violations, saying since serious violations account for about 75 percent of the agency’s violations, many involve “technical violations” that don’t represent the integrity of their safety programs or business ethics.

The department’s guidance tries to mollify some of those concerns. “The classification of a violation as serious under the Order does not mean that the contractor will not receive an award,” the guidance says. “Rather, the purpose of classifying certain violations as serious is to limit the scope of violations that will be considered.”
Repeat Redefined

While the rule didn’t alter OSHA’s definition of a serious violation, the rule does define a repeat violation differently than OSHA.

Under OSHA, a repeat violation can be cited when there was a similar unchallenged violation by the employer within the past five years.

The Safe Workplaces rule reduces the reporting window to three years.

Under current OSHA policy, repeat violations span a five-year period, the guidance says. However, the three-year time frame conforms to the order’s direction that the standards for repeated violations should consider whether the employer has had additional violations “of the same or a substantially similar requirement in the past 3 years.”

The employer will still be expected to report the repeat violation, however the “agency labor compliance advisors” reviewing the citations will decide if the initial violation is outside the three-year window, the guidance says.
Whistle-Blower Cases

In addition, some OSHA actions involving whistle-blower cases under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act must be reported even through no citations are issued in those cases, the guidance says. Section 11(c) prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for reporting an injury, illness or safety concern.

About whistle-blower cases, the guidance says, “For example, if a court issues a civil judgment finding that a contractor violated the OSH Act’s anti-retaliation provisions by firing a worker in retaliation for filing a complaint with OSHA, an ALCA should find that this violation is serious because it meets the retaliation criterion for serious violation.”

2 wildland firefighters killed, several injured after a ferocious collision on I-35W in Blaine, MN

2 WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS KILLED, 6 INJURED IN FIRE APPARATUS CRASH-MINNESOTA LODD

Billy August 27, 2016 

We regret to pass on to you that two Firefighters traveling in a Michigan-based fire vehicle were killed in the Line of Duty, and others were injured, following a crash this evening on Interstate 35W in Blaine, MN-while enroute to a fire in Utah. The fire transport vehicle contained 8 Firefighters. 

Initial reports are that the truck belonged to the Beartown Firefighters, a crew located on the south shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that specializes in fighting wildfires. 

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs manages this Type 2 Wildland Firefighting handcrew. The Firefighters are based out of Baraga, MI. and are available for dispatch locally as well as nation-wide. 

It is jointly managed by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). 

The Firefighters were on their way to the Box Canyon wildfire in Utah. Our condolences to all those affected. More to follow. RIP.


Fatal Crash Closes I-35W Southbound in Blaine


August 27, 2016 05:23 PM

A vehicle crash on Interstate 35W near 95th Avenue in Blaine is causing traffic to be diverted both northbound and southbound.

Officials have confirmed that at least one person is dead. Several others were injured in the crash, according to investigators.

Lettering on a truck involved in the crash says Beartown Fire Department. There is a Beartown Fire Department located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.








Interstate 35W crash near 95th Avenue in Blaine Aug. 27, 2016.

'Smoker's carelessness' causes 2-alarm fire displacing 8 in SW Portland

A fire along Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway damaged apartments Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Portland Fire & Rescue
Therese Bottomly | The Oregonian/OregonLive

By Kale Williams | The Oregonian/OregonLive
 
on August 27, 2016 at 9:03 AM, updated August 27, 2016 at 2:48 PM




A 2-alarm fire caused by a "smoker's carelessness" damaged three units in a Southwest Portland Apartment building and displaced eight people Saturday morning, officials said.

Portland Fire and Rescue first reported the blaze around 7 a.m. with multiple crews responding to an apartment complex on the 5000 block of Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. About 20 minutes later, firefighters called for a second alarm as the fire grew.

Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by about 7:45 a.m. and no injuries were reported, though seven adults and one teenager were displaced by the fire. The Red Cross would be assisting the victims to find shelter, Portland Fire and Rescue reported on Twitter.

Eastbound lanes of Beaverton Hillsdale Highway reopened by 9 a.m., but westbound lanes remained closed between 45th Avenue and Shattuck Road and weren't expected to reopen until around 10 a.m.

Investigators believe the fire was caused by when a lit cigarette was discarded on a deck.

Another apartment fire displaced 14 people — 10 adults, four children and their pets — in Milwaukie Friday evening. Crews responded to the blaze on the 4800 block of Southeast Boardman Ave near Mclaughlin Boulevard around 6 p.m.

A Trimet bus with air conditioning was brought in to keep the residents cool while firefighters battled the blaze, according to a report from KATU, and the Red Cross came in to help those displaced by the fire.

A school bus collision in Madera County, Calinfernio Friday afternoon ended with two drivers seriously injured

A school bus collision in Madera County Friday afternoon ended with two drivers injured and now in the hospital. (KFSN)

Friday, August 26, 2016 05:26PM
MADERA COUNTY (KFSN) -- A school bus collision in Madera County Friday afternoon ended with two drivers injured and now in the hospital.

California Highway Patrol officers said a school bus with the Golden Valley School District failed to stop at a stop sign on Road 35 and Avenue 13 and-a-half. The bus hit a pickup truck and both vehicles ended up on the side of the road.

Officers said the two drivers both suffered major injuries and were taken to Community Regional Medical Center. They are expected to survive.

No children were on board the bus at the time.

a truck has struck an overpass and collapsed a pedestrian bridge onto one of England's busiest highways

Witnesses and British emergency services say a truck has struck an overpass and collapsed a pedestrian bridge onto one of England's busiest highways, injuring one person. (WPVI)

Saturday, August 27, 2016 02:49PM
LONDON -- Witnesses and British emergency services say a truck has struck an overpass and collapsed a pedestrian bridge onto one of England's busiest highways, injuring one person.

Witnesses say a truck hauling construction vehicles appeared to clip the bridge Saturday on the London-bound M20 highway 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of the British capital.

Ambulance officials say the injured man was a motorcyclist who came off his bike as the bridge started to collapse in front of him, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

The M20, one of two motorways that link London with the cross-Channel port of Dover and the nearby Eurotunnel terminal, was closed in both directions. The shutdown caused massive traffic jams on what was already an exceptionally busy three-day weekend for vacationers heading to and from France.

Livermore Ramirez Market Sustains $300,000 in Damage After Morning Fire, a Total Loss

The fire was first reported at 4:07 a.m. near First and Maples streets, according to fire officials.





By Autumn Johnson (Patch Staff) - August 27, 2016 3:49 pm ET
 
LIVERMORE, CA — A fire that broke out at the downtown Ramirez Livermore market early this morning caused an estimated $300,000 in damage, fire officials said.

The fire was first reported at 4:07 a.m. near First and Maples streets, according to fire officials.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw smoke coming from the roof of a strip mall at the location. Firefighters were then able to locate the fire at the far left of the building, where a market is located at 124 Maple Street.

The fire extended into the attic area of the market, threatening the businesses next door, fire officials said.
After clearing a storage area, firefighters were able to gain access to the fire. Around 5 a.m., firefighters had brought the blaze under control, according to fire officials.

While the market sustained heavy smoke and fire damage, neighboring businesses only sustained minor damage, fire officials said. The market has been closed while the cause of the fire remains
under investigation.

Update by Bay City News

Photo courtesy Livermore-Pleasanton Fire BC
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Original story:

Firefighters have been working to knock down a structure fire in Livermore Saturday morning.

The blaze was reported in the 100 block of Maple Street just after 4 a.m., according to the Pulsepoint phone application.

Livermore-Pleasanton Fire officials have not yet been reached for comment. No other information was currently available.


=======================

Livermore: Family-run market a 'total loss' after one-alarm fire

By Erin Baldassari, ebaldassari@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted:   08/27/2016 10:42:27 AM PDT | Updated:   about 6 hours ago

Firefighters doused a one-alarm blaze at Ramirez Market in Livermore early in the morning on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. (Courtesy of Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department)

 

 

LIVERMORE -- A family-run market was destroyed in a one-alarm fire early Saturday, an official with the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department said.

Firefighters responded shortly after 4 a.m. to a report of a fire at Ramirez Market, which is located inside a strip mall on the corner of First and Maple streets, said Battalion Chief Michael Miller.

 

 

Miller said the fire began in a back room and spread throughout the store and attic

 

Firefighters had trouble accessing the site because the shop owners move some inventory from outside into the market each night, he said.

Fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze by 5 a.m., and Miller said the crews were able to keep it from spreading to the adjacent ice cream store and restaurant.

 

 

He estimated the market sustained around $300,000 in damage and described it as a "total loss."

 

 

"It's a family business, and I don't think they'll be able to recover from this," Miller said. "My understanding is that they don't have insurance."

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, and Miller said no firefighters were injured in the blaze.

 

 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Miller said it is not considered suspicious.

 

Energy storage company VTTI Suspends Ops at Malaysian Terminal due to Oil Spill during loading operations

Image Courtesy: VTTI

Energy storage company VTTI, owned by energy trader Vitol, has suspended operations at its terminal in Malaysia due to an oil spill upon receipt of a Notice of Suspension by the Johor Port Authority, according to the company.

The oil spill occurred on August 24 while the tanker MT Trident Star was loading bunker fuel at berth 5 of ATT Tanjung Bin Terminal (ATB).

The investigation into the facts that led to the oil spill incident has concluded that oil was being loaded into a non-nominated tank on board of the MT Trident Star and the vessel’s crew failed to timely respond to the activation of the vessel’s high level alarm, according to VTTI.

“ATB has send a request to the authorities to re-consider the decision to suspend ATB’s operations and to uplift the suspension immediately,” VTTI said.

Located in Johor, Malaysia, ATB has a storage capacity of over one million cubic metres. The terminal handles over 100 vessels per month .

Pipeline worker with Energy Transfer Partners died after he sufferred a massive head injury while working on the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline in western North Dakota

Regulator: Dakota Access Pipeline Worker Killed in Accident

By james macpherson, associated pressBISMARCK, N.D. — Aug 27, 2016, 3:18 PM ET



A man working on the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline was killed in an apparent accident in western North Dakota, a state regulator said Saturday.

North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk said the man, whose name has not been released, died of his injuries Friday afternoon. The man was working for a subcontractor on land restoration. 

 
The man was working as subcontractor for Dallas-based operator Energy Transfer Partners, which is building the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois.

"We are saddened to learn that an employee of a subcontractor on the project in western North Dakota has died in an apparent work-related accident," the company said in a statement. "Our hearts and prayers are with his family. We do not have any additional details at this time."

The pipeline begins in western North Dakota and already is completed there, Kalk said. The site of the death is more than 200 miles away from where hundreds of mostly American Indians are protesting the pipeline in southern North Dakota. Tribal members fear the pipeline will harm water supplies and destroy sacred sites.

Kalk said the man was on a tractor Thursday, covering the underground pipeline with soil and grass seed. Kalk said the company reported Friday that the man suffered a serious head injury, apparently while working on equipment. He was taken to a Minot hospital, where he died.

The man was working alone and was found by his foreman, Kalk said.

"The company no reason to believe this was anything other than terrible accident," Kalk said.

State and federal regulators expect a full report on the incident early next week, he said. 

==================

Tractor carrying a seed drill for land restoration purposes.




UPDATE: Dakota Access Pipeline worker killed in accident
Saturday, August 27, 2016 9:47 a.m. CDT by Jim Monk
Dakota Access Pipeline (U.S. District Court)

TIOGA, ND - (KFGO-AM) - A man who was working on the Dakota Access Pipeline project has been killed in a work-related accident near Tioga.

North Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Brian Kalk says details about the accident are still being gathered.

“What we know is, an individual who was driving a tractor with a seed drill behind, working by himself in the area; something happened” Kalk said. “Everything we’re getting from the company in the initial investigation looks like it’s really a bad accident.” 

Typical seed drill like the one used by the dead worker

A seed drill is a piece of farm equipment used to plant seeds and cover them with dirt. The seed drill sows the seeds at equal distances, and most importantly, at proper depth.


Planting seed on the ROW uses the same equipment as found working on farm land. The farm tractor is used to till the ground, plant ROW grass seed and perform other tasks.

Typical farm tractors used by the dead worker.The tractor tills the soil, while the seed drill injects the seeds.


Kalk says it appears the man died from head injuries. He says the pipeline is already in the ground in the area and says the man was working for a subcontractor on land restoration.

The accident happened Thursday afternoon. Kalk says state regulators were notified of the incident Friday as required by an agreement that pipeline contractors have with the PSC.
====================

Overview

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Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company, LLC, is developing a new pipeline to transport crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks play in North Dakota to a terminus in Illinois with additional potential points of destination along the pipeline route. Highlights of the Project include:

• The pipeline is anticipated to be fully functional by 2016.
• The pipeline will translate into millions in state and local revenues during the construction phase and an estimated $156 million in sales and income taxes.
• The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is a $3.7 billion investment into the United States directly impacting the local and national labor force by creating 8,000–12,000 construction jobs and up to 40 permanent operating jobs.
• The committed volume rates of the pipeline project have already created historically high shipment ratios, with the pipeline projected to carry half of the Bakken’s current daily crude oil production.
• The pipeline will meet or exceed state and federal safety requirements and at a minimum will be designed in accordance with 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 195.

The Route

The Dakota Access pipeline is proposed to transport light, sweet crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. Traveling through 50 counties in 4 states, the proposed route was carefully designed to transport crude in the safest, most efficient way possible. 

Working with engineers, agriculture experts, and farmers, the Dakota Access team conducted on-the-ground surveys of the proposed route to ensure that the route had taken into consideration every aspect of the land in order to mitigate any risks. 

As permits are filed, the route is still subject to change slightly in order to accommodate the individual needs and concerns of landowners along the route.