By Sarah Richardson
Emergency crews responded Tuesday morning to a tractor-trailer accident involving a diesel fuel spill along Interstate 64 westbound near mile marker 174 in Greenbrier County.
According to the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to the scene at approximately 6 a.m. on May 5. Upon arrival, responders discovered that a trailer hauling containers of diesel fuel had detached from the truck and slid into the median.
Officials said approximately 18 diesel fuel containers were either ruptured or overturned during the crash, resulting in an estimated spill of 4,000 gallons of fuel.
Multiple emergency agencies responded to the scene, including the Lewisburg Fire Department, White Sulphur Springs Volunteer Fire Department, and Fairlea EMS. The West Virginia Department of Highways, West Virginia Department of Transportation, Greenbrier County Homeland Security, and Evergreen Environmental were also contacted immediately to assist with containment efforts.
Despite rapid response efforts, authorities confirmed that some diesel fuel entered nearby storm drains and reached Howard’s Creek. Crews have since worked continuously to prevent the contamination from spreading farther downstream toward the Greenbrier River.
Officials urged the public to avoid the area whenever possible to allow emergency personnel and environmental crews to safely conduct cleanup operations.
In an update released Wednesday morning, officials reported that Evergreen Environmental crews remained on site overnight replacing containment booms in both the interstate drainage system and Howard’s Creek.
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, crews were actively skimming fuel from upstream portions of hard booms installed Tuesday by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection response team. Authorities also confirmed that an underflow dam constructed near the end of the drainage chute has proven highly effective in collecting fuel flowing from the interstate storm drain culvert.
The containment structure will remain in place as cleanup operations continue.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will continue monitoring conditions in Howard’s Creek and coordinate any additional environmental response measures deemed necessary. The agency will also oversee repairs to creek banks impacted by the spill.
Officials said additional updates will be released as more information becomes available. As of press time on Thursday, May 7, monitoring was continuing and no threat was reported beyond the immediate area. On Thursday, Terry Fletcher with the WV Department of Environmental Protection stated that, “A significant amount [of diesel] has already been recovered, and recovery and remediation efforts remain ongoing. Environmental contractors are using containment measures and vacuum trucks in the concrete spillway to prevent additional material from entering the watershed. Instream protections, including hard and soft containment booms and absorbent pads, have been deployed in Howards Creek and are being continuously monitored and replaced as needed.
No free product (visible pooling or concentrated diesel) is being observed in the waterway, though light sheening remains in isolated areas. This is expected during petroleum cleanup operations and is anticipated to diminish as remediation continues. No fishkill has been observed at this time. Soil remediation activities began today, which will include confirmational sampling to ensure impacted material is properly removed. Environmental contractors continue to conduct on-site monitoring, and WVDEP will oversee cleanup activities through completion.”
