B.C.’s Environment and Parks Ministry is monitoring response activities to a diesel spill from a truck crash near a northern B.C. waterway.
The latest report from the ministry’s spills and environmental emergencies says that operations to remove the contaminated soil have expanded to a forested area where the diesel has pooled.
Crews have dug a trench to protect the waterway from migrating diesel, which appears to be contained within the current recovery area, says a July 29 update.
The ministry adds that currently there are no impacts observed beyond the trench.
Soil and water samples have been collected to assess environmental impacts, the July 29 update adds. Biologists are also on site to provide advice when working near sensitive habitat areas.
The Environment and Parks Ministry received a report of a spill involving a transport truck on July 22 on Highway 97 northwest of Coal River and just south of the B.C.-Yukon border. The waterway is downslope from the crash site.
Initial reports from the ministry’s spills and environmental emergencies says the transport truck was hauling diesel and collided with a bison, sending the truck off the road and ending up on its side.
At the time, the ministry said there was potential for up to 50,000 litres of diesel to spill into a nearby waterway.
The truck’s lead trailer and pup trailer were removed from the site by July 27.
The lead trailer was heavily damage. A July 23 update says it’s assumed all of its contents were spilled, while the pup trailer had an “undetermined” amount of fuel remaining.