Crews are continuing their clean-up work following a spill of about 12,000 litres of diesel fuel in Jaffray.
According to officials with the Regional District of East Kootenay, the efforts to recover diesel and water contaminants from the recovery trench are ongoing.
RDEK staff said the responsible party and Environmental Consultant (Stantec) are working with the ministry to plan a discharge of treated water from the recovery trench into the nearby river.
Officials note that this will not happen until the Ministry of Environment and a qualified professional give the green light.
While clean-up has been going on, workers have been testing the soil and water for contaminants to find out the extent of the damage.
Soil testing has shown that fuel has not soaked very deeply into the ground.
“From the soil sampling and delineation that has been completed, it has been determined that the majority of diesel was contained within the top 0.5m of the soil,” said RDEK officials.
Water samples have also returned optimistic results, with officials saying there are no significant impacts on the local aquafer or residential water systems at this time.
However, the precautionary water quality advisory from Interior Health has yet to be rescinded.
Crews will stay on the scene for the time being, as there is still plenty of work to do.
“A concrete timeline for finishing remediation is unknown; however, will be provided as part of a Remediation Plan,” said the RDEK. “This Plan is in development and is expected to be provided to the Ministry soon.”
Clean-up crews have been on the job since the spill on Feb. 11, when an above-ground tank overflowed while it was being filled.
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