HYRUM — Crews are still cleaning up after a delivery truck mistake led to more than 1,300 gallons of oil spilled two weeks ago behind a gas station on Main Street.
There is no threat to the public, said Ashley Sumner, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. However, she said residents should avoid the Salt Hollow Park pond and incident area while there is an active cleanup.
On March 14 crews responded to a reported spill at 325 W. Main Street behind the Hyrum Shortstop Sinclair gas station. The response team was able to stop the oil before it reached U.S. waterways, said a spokesperson with the Environmental Protection Agency. It sent a coordinator out to the location on March 19 to conduct an environmental assessment with local officials.
“We are overseeing the cleanup to ensure that the pond and canal are no-longer impacted by the spill,” Sumner said.
Those responsible for the spill have hired a contractor to do the clean up. Since neither the state or federal agencies are handling clean up, no estimated costs associated with the spill were released.
A cleanup contractor discovered the origin of the spill and began containment and recovering spilled fuels from a nearby storm water pond, according to the report. The Utah DEQ was contacted in case of possible threats to local waterways (Spring Creek and Little Bear River) but discovered the spill was contained before reaching those bodies of water.
“Though we don’t know how long remediation will be before things are back to normal. We are all very confident that no major impacts will occur,” according to a portion of the statement.