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Department of Ecology News Release - December 20, 2008
08-330
OLYMPIA – An attempted gasoline theft from the Wishkah Valley School in February caused a 350-gallon spill, some of which ended up in a nearby creek. Now, the Aberdeen man who caused the spill will receive a $49,000 penalty from the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and a bill for nearly $350,000 to reimburse the state for cleanup costs.
Ryan J. Allen admitted to using two garden hoses to siphon gas from the school’s above-ground gas tank in the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. Startled by a light, he ran off, leaving the hoses in two five-gallon containers which quickly overflowed. Ecology estimates at least 350 gallons of fuel spilled between the time he fled and when the spill was discovered more than a day later.
The school uses an automatic sump pump to protect classrooms and the septic tank from high groundwater infiltration and flooding. The pump filled with gas and sent close to 100 gallons of the spilled fuel into an adjacent creek.
Ecology and other natural resource specialists found dead fish, crayfish and aquatic insects and worms along a quarter-mile section of the creek, which flows into the Wishkah River. The Wishkah is an important fish-bearing river, hosting runs of coho, winter steel head and cutthroat.
Once the pump was disconnected by school staff, gasoline and groundwater flooded the spill area and part of the school building. Students missed class for a week, and a special filtration/water treatment system had to be put in place. Pockets of gas were visible in the creek for four days after the spill, and strong odors persisted inside the school for several days.
The cleanup took six weeks, which cost the school about $17,000 and Ecology about $350,000. Ecology is required to seek reimbursement of its cleanup costs. The penalty is based on a number of factors, including environmental harm and threat to public health and safety.
According to Dale Jensen, Ecology’s spills program manager, “this spill was very disruptive to the school, caused extensive damage to a nearby stream and was extraordinarily expensive to clean up. It serves as a lesson to anyone who thinks that stealing a little gas isn’t going to cause much damage.”
Mr. Allen has 30 days to pay the penalty. He may also choose to appeal it to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board or petition Ecology for reconsideration of its penalty.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos taken during the spill response are available upon request to news organizations.)
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 (desk) or 360-791-9830 (cell)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
