UPDATE: In a Facebook post by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality the department announced that in the future, responders will prioritize removing diesel from stormwater drains to reduce the amount entering the creek and monitoring the boom installments.
Diesel leaked from a tank Friday in Nampa and after a period of rain, made its way into the stormwater system. Nampa Fire Department received calls on Saturday followed soon by Caldwell Fire Department with diesel spotted in Mason Creek on its way to the Boise River.
- Diesel is currently being absorbed into booms placed on the water.
- One absorbent boom can hold nearly 25 gallons of oil-based contaminants.
- With the emergency phase nearly finished, contractors will monitor the booms every 3-4 hours, replacing saturated materials.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
On Friday an unknown amount of diesel was spilled into the storm drain system of Nampa which eventually led into Mason Creek. On Monday, the sheen and smell of diesel could still be detected about 12 miles from the initial spot of the spill.
"We found that the fuel was not only in Nampa but was in Mason Creek going basically all the way to the Boise River by the time we got here Saturday to assess," explained Cody Troskyr, member of the HAZMAT team and Caldwell Fire Department.
The diesel is being absorbed into floating booms on Mason Creek. By Monday there were already two booms in place along Mason Creek. I joined Caldwell Fire as they placed a third in a more gentle section of the creek. In total, four boom locations throughout Mason Creek will be in place.
"If the water is turbulent the diesel will go under the boom. When it's gentle it will stay on the top and we can absorb it."
Diesel that is not absorbed into the booms will also continue to evaporate naturally but that takes warmer temperatures.
"Today we're sitting at 43 degrees and overcast there is no chance of that fuel evaporating right now," added Trosky.
The booms are expected to be in place for as long as they need to be, though an exact timeline is unknown, despite all best efforts, a 100% cleanup of any spill into water is not possible.
The emergency phase of the spill is nearly over and contractors will be taking over the maintenance of the four boom locations.
"They're going to examine what we've built and they will change out the pieces that are disposable and they're going to change that out between every 3-4 hours every day," concluded Trosky
In all, the response to the diesel in the water systems included six agencies: Nampa Fire Department, Caldwell Fire Department, Boise Fire Department, Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, and the contractors who will be maintaining the boom stations.
