Fire crews attempt to contain 300 gallon oil spill in Moses Lake

An estimated 300 gallons of used motor oil spilled on an overpass spanning Interstate 90 in Moses Lake Wednesday afternoon.

A driver was hauling a trailer filled with two oil-filled plastic totes contained in steel cages when he took a corner too fast, said Moses Lake Fire Department Capt. Dave Holle. “Both totes ended up exiting the trailer he was pulling,” Holle said.

One of the totes broke open, spilling its full load of 270 gallons of oil. The second tote landed upright but was cracked and leaked about 30 gallons, Holle said. The spill occurred near two storm drains, but those overpass drains dump into the freeway median.

“A lot of our drains go into the lake,” he said.

The fire department contained the spill and used sand to soak it up while waiting for a response from the Department of Ecology, Holle said. It appears that the totes were not properly secured in the trailer.

“He will be on the hook, I’m sure, for an unsecured load,” Holle said. “He’s on the hook for the clean up as well.”