Oregon highway fuel spill worsens, contaminates groundwater

ADAIR VILLAGE, Ore. – A massive fuel spill on an Oregon highway that has caused traffic detours and delays for the past 10 days is now looking even worse after wildlife managers discovered fuel contamination has spread into the groundwater.

The Statesman Journal reported E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area managers found out about the contamination on Monday.

Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Katherine Benenati says contamination also has spread to Coffin Butte Landfill on the other side of Highway 99W.

Oregon Petroleum Transport is on the hook for the cost of environmental cleanup and for rebuilding an 800-foot stretch of the highway.

The spill happened when one of the company’s double-tanker trucks crashed into a ditch with a load of about 11,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel.