Diesel spill north of Vavenby
Last updated on April 5, 2023DISCLAIMER: Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management B.C. Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.
Incident Description
| Incident Date | December 30, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Name | Diesel Spill North of Vavenby (DGIR: 183588) |
| Source | Transport Truck |
| Nearest Community | Vavenby, B.C. |
| Spilled Content | Diesel |
| Who is involved? | Interior Health Authority (IHA), First Nation Health Authority (FNHA), B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy, Village of Vavenby, Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD), MSP Transport |
Response Phase Detail
The responsible person or spiller is legally required to clean-up or manage the clean-up of a spill. In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the clean up, the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy (MOE) may assume the role. The updates below reflect the Ministry’s oversight of the spillers’ actions; details describe the spill response phase, only, and not the complete lifecycle of the spill. See More Information for other related reports.
Updates are in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top. Industry-specific language may be explained in the Glossary of Terms (PDF).
Most Recent Update
December 31, 2019 - 10:20 am
On Sunday, December 30, 2019, a transport truck was hauling frozen meat when it went off the road and into the North Thompson River. The incident location is approximately 30 km north of Vavenby on Highway 5.
The driver was rescued from the incident site. However, the transport truck and trailer's fuel tanks were compromised and an unknown amount of fuel was released.
Interior Health Authority (IHA) has issued a "Do Not Consume Order" for drinking water in the Vavenby area. For more information on this order, please see IHA's media release here. For information on potential road closures, please visit DriveBC.
An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) with B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy attended the site yesterday afternoon (December 30). The responsible person, MSP Transport, has hired contractors to clean up the spill and salvage the transport truck. A sampling plan is currently being put together.
A community meeting was held last night (December 30) in Vavenby to inform residents of the incident. The responding EERO attended this meeting.
The Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) will be back on site again today to oversee the spill assessment and recovery efforts.
No further updates are anticipated unless the situation worsens.