A truck with a diesel fuel leak forced public works departments from Philomath, Corvallis and Benton County into action Thursday to perform a cleanup that covered a stretch of around 12 miles, officials said.
Public works crews investigated after receiving reports that indicated a sheen of fuel could be seen on roadways in an area from Northwest Walnut Boulevard in Corvallis to North 19th and Main streets in Philomath.
Philomath Public Works was alerted to the situation after receiving a phone call from the Shonnard’s Nursery’s facility on 19th and Industrial streets, said Kevin Fear, Philomath Public Works director. An employee going into work Thursday morning followed the trail of fuel up to the Shonnard’s shop and also had footage of the truck with the leak captured on a video system.
“We went out as soon as we were notified and followed the trail,” Fear said. “Philomath was pretty lucky as there wasn’t as heavy of a spill in town as there was in Corvallis where it started.”
Philomath Public Works was involved in three emergency coordination meetings with Benton County Emergency Management, City of Corvallis Emergency Management and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
“We had one catch basin that we had to protect from where the truck was stopped at a stoplight and fuel had puddled and ran to the curb,” Fear said, referring to a spot on 19th just north of Main. ”There was about a pint of fluid at the curb. It wasn’t spreading but we put an absorbent boom around the catch basin in case it rained and mopped up the puddle.”
According to the city of Corvallis, the intermittent leak was observed along Walnut Boulevard from approximately Satinwood Drive through Reservoir Road. Those public works crews also deployed absorbent materials near storm drains and sewers to protect waterways.
Philomath’s part of the response wrapped up by midday Thursday.
“Corvallis was still mopping up at the last meeting we had around 2 p.m. (Thursday),” Fear said. “We kept an eye on it until around noon when it had evaporated or worn off the road. We were fortunate as we only had the one small puddle in town and the rest was a fine line that stayed in the road and wore off.”
Fear said it was also lucky that conditions in Philomath stayed dry so fuel from the spill didn’t get washed into catch basins or ditches.
Emergency management officials were working to gather more information about the leak and, if needed, request additional remediation resources. Officials noted that there is no danger to the public.
