Overturned Tanker Truck near Grand Forks

DISCLAIMER: 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	January 25, 2018
Name	Overturned Tanker Truck near Grand Forks
Source	Tanker Truck
Nearest Community	Grand Forks, B.C.
Spilled Content	Fuel
Who is involved?	Emergency Management B.C., Transport Canada, B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy

 

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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

January 26, 2018 - 1:16 pm

Response crews successfully offloaded the remaining fuel from the overturned tanker truck yesterday evening (Thursday, January 25). Some fuel was spilled during the incident but it is reported to be confined to the Highway 3A right of way. 

The exact amount of fuel offloaded is still being calculated in addition to the amount that was left in the saddle tanks after the semi had driven from its last fuel up. As a result, the amount of fuel spilled is still being determined.

The fuel tanker and truck were righted last night and the responsible person (the spiller) has hired a consultant to address the spilled fuel. 

The responding Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) remained on site for the offloading of the fuel and the righting of the tanker truck to provide oversight. 

No further updates are expected.

 

January 25, 2018 - 3:07 pm

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) with B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy has arrived on scene. 

The tanker truck was hauling both diesel and gasoline. Fuel offloading operations are underway. The quantity of spilled material is still being determined but the amount of fuel spilled is expected to be low.

Highway 3A will be closed intermittently to allow for the fuel offloading process. Please check DriveBC.ca for the latest information on highway closures.

The next update will be provided when new information is available. 

(Overturned fuel tanker truck near Grand Forks, B.C. - January 25, 2018)

 

January 25, 2018 - 11:17 am

A tanker truck carrying approximately 40,000 L of fuel has overturned about 3 km east of Grand Forks on Hwy 3A. Fire crews and traffic control are currently on scene to ensure public safety. 

The responsible person has submitted a safety plan to Transport Canada to address the emergency. Once the fog in the area lifts and visibility improves the responsible person will move forward with the approved safety plan.

An EERO (Environmental Emergency Response Officer) with B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy is en route to the incident site. 

Updates will be provided as soon as new information is available.