CARBON COUNTY, Utah, May 4, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials cleaning up a crude oil spill after a tanker rollover Friday in Carbon County are reducing their estimate of how much oil spilled.
A Utah Department of Environmental Quality tweet on Saturday says crews now estimate the spill at 5,000 gallons, with about 2,500 gallons going into Willow Creek, just of U.S. Highway 191 north of Helper.
“Crews from @UtahDEQ have revised the amount of oil we are estimating entered Willow Creek. The new estimate is 300-500 gallons of crude. As of Saturday morning, SR 191 is still closed in both directions.”
The accident happened at about 9 a.m. Friday near mile marker 257, about nine miles north of Helper.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality then tweeted that the cool water temperature had turned the oil in the creek into a waxy yellow solid, making cleanup easier.
The Utah DEQ tweets on Friday also noted that drinking water had not been affected.
Below, see a UHP tweet with drone footage of the scene, followed by photos from the DEQ:
Troopers were able to provide some drone video of the scene. pic.twitter.com/wBa9cmvypG
— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) May 3, 2019
