NEAR PRINCETON — A large material spill near Princeton caused Highway 3 to close for several hours Monday morning and an estimated 20,000 litres of diesel fuel is believed to have leaked from the trailer of a transport truck.
That’s according to the Ministry of Environment, which says it’s working with other government agencies to respond to the incident about six kilometres east of Eastgate.
Spokesperson for the ministry, David Karn says it has not yet been determined how much of the diesel fuel entered nearby Saturday Creek, which flows into the Similkameen River.
The Interior Health Authority (IHA) is advising residents who draw water from the river downstream of the spill site to be on the lookout for signs of fuel contamination.
“Do not use the river water if it smells or tastes like fuel. This includes for irrigation or agricultural purposes. Diesel fuel can pose a health risk following ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption,” said IHA Spokesperson Tara Gostelow in a news release.
“Residents who have private water sources that draw from the river, or from shallow wells near the river in the affected area are advised to avoid use of the water if they smell or taste fuel, or if they see a fuel sheen on the surface of the water.”
The Ministry of Environment has an officer on the scene of the incident.
“The trucking company has retained RAM Environmental as an emergency response contractor,” Karn told Global News in an email statement.
“The ministry has notified the Lower and Upper Similkameen Bands, Interior Health and Washington State.”
Eastgate resident David Cook says several vehicles were turned around after the accident resulting in a large lineup of vehicles on the highway.
Highway 3 reopened to single-lane alternating traffic around 12:45 p.m.
Two Mario’s Towing trucks from Kelowna also responded to the scene.
According to Joye Redfield-Wilder with the Washington State Department of Ecology, they were notified of the spill around 9:30 a.m.
The spill happened shortly after 7:30 a.m. and Redfield-Wilder says two hours is a normal time frame from the occurrence of an incident for the department to be notified.
To Redfield-Wilder’s understanding, the spill is about 90 river miles away from crossing into the U.S. She says they’ve been informed about a meeting being held by B.C.’s Ministry of Environment at 7 p.m. on Monday.
She adds that Washington Ecology will be on standby for a ‘situation report’ from B.C. after the meeting.
~ With files from Jolaine Tansowny