Gasoline spill results in $137,000 fine
SEATTLE, Wash. -- A Corvallis, Ore., petroleum distributor has agreed to a $137,000 fine for a 2006 fuel spill that sent diesel and gasoline into a river near Roseburg, Ore., that provides habitat for cutthroat trout.
On March 11, 2006, a tanker truck owned and operated by Truax Oil Inc. struck a guardrail, overturned and caught fire in Roseburg, Ore. The crash released approximately 9,000 gallons of gasoline and 2,000 gallons of diesel, some of which entered the ground and a tributary of the South Fork of the Umpqua River, which provides habitat for cutthroat trout.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Truax was cooperative throughout the entire cleanup and hired cleanup contractors to conduct removal and mitigation efforts. Roughly 11,123 tons of petroleum contaminated soil was removed from the spill site. Truax spent over $2 Million on the cleanup and mitigation efforts.
The settlement will be subject to a public comment period and approval by a judge before it becomes final.
EPA and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality coordinated enforcement on this case.
Truax is to pay the United States $117,500 and the State $20,000 for a total penalty of $137,500.
