Paint, fuel spill into Apple Creek tributary

~ DNR personnel on the scene observed no fish kills or immediate effect on aquatic life.

PERRY COUNTY, Mo. -- Environmental cleanup crews were working Friday to contain a paint and diesel fuel spill that happened early Thursday morning near a tributary of Apple Creek near the border of Cape Girardeau and Perry counties.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said about 100 gallons of paint and about 50 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled into the creek from a tractor-trailer operating for Star Transport Inc. of Morton, Ill. While the spill occurred early in the morning, the DNR, the state's primary environmental response agency, wasn't notified of the spill until Thursday afternoon, said Larry Archer, spokesman for the DNR's Field Services Division.

The cleanup poses special challenges because the paint is mixing with the water, Archer said. Diesel floats on top of water and can be easily stopped using floating absorbent devices.

"Typically we're used to dealing with stuff that floats on the water. ..." Archer said. "It's a lot easier to contain. This is actually kind of blending in with the water."

The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to the accident initially, and Missouri Department of Transportation personnel worked Thursday morning to contain the initial spill. During the off-loading of the paint from the tractor-trailer additional paint was spilled.

Archer said the DNR is unsure why the agency wasn't alerted to the spill until Thursday afternoon.

"We want to be notified much sooner than 12 hours after the event," Archer said. He said it's possible that the first people on the scene didn't realize the extent of the spill because it was night.

By just before noon Friday, the contractor cleaning the spill had pumped about 4,000 gallons of contaminated water out of the creek, and about one mile of the creek, an unnamed tributary to Apple Creek, had been affected by the spill, Archer said.

DNR personnel on the scene observed no fish kills or immediate effect on aquatic life by about 11 a.m. Friday, Archer said.

A report will be filed following a DNR investigation of the incident, and the agency will determine if any action is to be taken against Star Transport.

Star Transport is responsible for paying the cost of the cleanup. An employee with Star Transport's safety division said those with information on the cause and details of the accident weren't available Friday afternoon.

Archer said the DNR didn't yet know as of Friday afternoon whether any contaminants had actually made their way into Apple Creek.

The accident happened on an access road to Interstate 55 near the Cape Girardeau and Perry County border, according to DNR reports.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182