Wednesday, January 27, 1999
Instant dam limits gasoline spill
Crews spend second day cleaning soil
BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP — Quick action to erect a makeshift dam wasn't enough to save about 100 fish Monday, but it did prevent neighborhood evacuations after a dangerous spill from a gasoline truck seeped into a stream off Interstate 75.
The southbound lanes of the interstate were closed for about 12 hours Monday and early Tuesday while crews cleaned up between 500 and 2,000 gallons of gasoline just south of the Cincinnati-Dayton Road exit in Butler County.
A private cleanup crew continued to work Tuesday to remove soil in a ditch along the highway, closing one lane of southbound I-75.
The crew was flushing scum from degradated gasoline and planned to leave absorbent material in the ditch area and in the creek to collect any other residue from the fuel.
Township workers' efforts to build the dam and safety officers' ability to clear the site helped contain a potentially explosive situation, officials said Tuesday.
“If that thing (spill) had burned downstream, we would have had to evacuate that whole area,” Township Administrator David Gully said Tuesday.
The environmental effect was limited to the area between the spill and the dam and does not pose danger to residents, said Dale Farmer, on-scene coordinator for the Southwest District Office of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The contaminated stream's flow was stopped before it spread to a residential area in and around the Saratoga Farms subdivision, officials said.
“Everything died within that distance. If they hadn't done what they did, it would have been a really bad situation,” Mr. Farmer said.
The dam is to be removed this morning before rain that is forecast for this evening begins to fall, Mr. Farmer said.
Mike Custer, an Ohio Division of Wildlife officer assigned to Butler County, said he walked from where the spill occurred to the dam — about an eighth of a mile — to survey the damage Tuesday.
He said the damage was “very minimal” to wildlife because the stream's flow was stopped at a critical spot.
The truck, owned by Emery Transportation of Newtown, was carrying 8,900 gallons of gasoline. Rich Emery, co-owner of the company, said he does not know yet how much the cleanup will cost.
Even though the truck driver was not cited, the company is responsible for the cost, Mr. Emery said.
Truck driver Michael H. Marlar, 50, of Cherry Grove, went off the highway after being sideswiped by a car driven by Richard T. Helm, 22, of West Chester.
Mr. Helm was in the far left lane when traffic in front of him slowed, and he swerved across two lanes of traffic and struck the tanker in the right lane, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
He was cited for improper lane use and having no operator's license. Mr. Helm was driving with a temporary permit, the highway patrol said.
Mr. Emery said the company also may be responsible for costs incurred by safety departments, but it “depends on if they bill for their time.”
The company has insurance to pay for some of those costs, but still, “it's a big financial loss,” he said.
Township officials are determining how much the company will be charged for materials and supplies used by the township to handle the incident, Mr. Gully said. He said he does not expect to charge the company for the township's labor.
Officials cited the quick response of firefighters, police officers and mutual aid from neighboring fire departments for smooth execution of the disaster response.
“You train for incidents like this and hope they never happen,” said Tony Goller, Union Township Fire Department's assistant chief of operations. “When it does happen, you hope you're prepared. ... Everybody worked pretty well together to make it a good outcome.”
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