State health officials clarify Rifle train-truck spill
Garfield County Sheriff’s photo
State health officials on Friday told the Vail Daily they’re working at the site of a tanker truck collision with a passenger train last week that spilled thousands of gallons of “material” near the main Union Pacific rail line in Rifle that heads east from there along the Colorado River through Eagle County.
“The Union Pacific Railroad reported that a passenger train struck a tractor-trailer truck at a railroad grade crossing near Rifle on May 6, resulting in a derailment and the release of material from the truck onto a roadway,” Branden Ingersoll, spokesperson for the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment wrote in an email Friday.
Ingersoll said emergency responders indicated the release was limited to the roadway and surrounding soil, which state water quality officials confirmed with onsite contractors.
“Our solid waste staff is following up with local emergency responders to assess the impact of the spill on the surrounding soil,” Ingersoll said. “Once emergency responders have controlled the spill, we will work with local partners to fully characterize, delineate, remediate, and dispose of impacted soils in accordance with state requirements.”
Ingersoll on Monday clarified the spilled material was asphalt, although he did not identify the company trucking the material. In a press release last week, the Colorado State Patrol reported the truck spilled 6,000 gallons of oil.
Support Local Journalism
“Once the release has been remediated, the responsible party must conduct confirmation sampling to ensure the area has been fully cleaned,” Ingersoll added. “Our solid waste staff will then review the confirmation samples and determine whether the cleanup meets applicable requirements for residential soil. When we make that determination, our solid waste staff will provide a written response to the facility and local government agencies involved, indicating whether no further action is required or if any additional steps must be taken.”
While last week’s collision involved a Canyon Spirit passenger train headed from Denver to Moab, Utah, and not an oil train, all eyes are on the Union Pacific line as Utah oil companies look to increase the number of heated oil tanker trains and the volume of oil on the rail line that travels through remote river canyons in Eagle County, which has sued twice to slow the increase in Utah oil trains through Colorado.
