Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 8, 1999

99-234

Contact: Ron Langley, Ecology Public Information, (425) 649-7009; Pager (206) 663-1785

Truck hauling contaminated soil crashes into Diablo Lake

BELLEVUE - A truck and trailer hauling gasoline-contaminated soil is submerged in Diablo Lake after crashing on State Route (SR) 20 at about 11 a.m. today.

The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) has responded to the scene along with the Washington State Patrol and rangers from the National Park Service.

According to the State Patrol, the truck was travelling westbound when it went off the road just east of the bridge crossing Diablo Lake. The truck tumbled down a 200-foot embankment before coming to rest in the water. The driver was found near the crash site and has been airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Great Northern Trucking Co. of Puyallup owns the truck.

The truck and trailer was loaded with contaminated soil from a tanker truck crash on SR-20 on Oct. 29 in which 7,000 gallons of gasoline was spilled near Rainy Pass. The load was bound for a soil treatment and recycling facility in Everett.

Foss Environmental of Seattle, which is handling the tanker truck cleanup, has also responded to the Diablo Lake crash. Oil-absorbing booms have been placed around the crash site and have so far contained an oil sheen resulting from the wreck.

SR-20 (North Cascades Highway) has been closed since last Friday to allow cleanup contractors to safely remove contaminated soil around and under the highway.