King County crews responding to fuel spill at Black River Pumping Station

2005 Archived News

Crews from King County and the Washington State Department of Ecology have responded to a spill of perhaps several thousand gallons of diesel fuel at the county's Black River Pumping Station in Renton.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, King County staff noticed diesel fuel pooled in a containment berm that encloses three fuel-storage tanks at the pumping station. Pumping station staff immediately notified the Washington State Department of Ecology of the fuel spill.

An estimated 7,500 gallons of a mixture of water and diesel were pumped from the berm-enclosed fuel-storage area and into a temporary holding tank. The mixture will be held overnight and properly treated.

Experts will be on-site tomorrow to conduct tests of the pumping station's fuel system for possible leaks. Crews will also assess how much fuel leaked and dig test pits between the tanks and the Green River to look for the possibility of underground fuel migration.

Diesel fuel is used to operate pumps at the pumping station, which regulates flows from the Black River drainage basin into the Green River and prevents high flows from the Green from entering the Black River and Springbrook Creek watersheds.