Diesel, Milk Spill Contained After Tanker Crash

Emergency crews responded quickly Friday morning after a tanker truck crashed near Trailbridge Reservoir, spilling diesel fuel and thousands of gallons of milk into a creek connected to the Upper McKenzie River.

According to the Eugene Water & Electric Board, the truck was carrying an estimated 275 gallons of diesel and between 5,000 and 7,000 gallons of milk when it crashed. Some of the material entered a nearby creek that flows into the McKenzie River system.

EWEB officials said drinking water for Eugene-area customers is not expected to be impacted.

Crews from multiple agencies mobilized rapidly as part of the McKenzie Watershed Emergency Response System, known as MWERS. EWEB staff and the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District were the first responders on scene and immediately deployed spill containment equipment.

Containment booms were placed in both the creek and the river to capture the spilled materials, including a boom stretched across Trail Bridge Reservoir, where milk from the spill could be seen in the water Friday.

Officials said the total amount of fuel and milk that reached the waterway is still being evaluated.

“We have many mitigation measures in place, and it would take a significant amount of time before any materials would travel all the way down the river to EWEB’s Hayden Bridge Drinking Water Treatment Plant,” said Susan Fricke, EWEB’s Water Resources and Quality Assurance Supervisor. “We appreciate our partners’ quick response to get mitigation measures deployed.”

Responding agencies included EWEB, Upper McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Springfield Utility Board, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Region 2 HazMat teams. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is also monitoring the river for possible impacts to fish and aquatic life.

EWEB noted that MWERS partners conducted an annual spill response drill at the same location last fall, which helped prepare crews for an incident like Friday’s crash.

The MWERS partnership includes more than a dozen local, state, and federal agencies that coordinate responses to hazardous spills within the McKenzie watershed. Participating organizations include McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Eugene-Springfield Fire Hazmat, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Springfield Utility Board, the City of Springfield, DEQ, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Officials emphasized that early containment efforts significantly reduced the risk to downstream drinking water supplies.