By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Contractors early Friday finished cleaning up a 5-day-old 2,900 gallon milk spill on the east side of U.S. Highway 101 just south of Yachats.
The operation started at 8 p.m. Thursday and was finished at 3 a.m. Friday.
NWFF Environmental of Philomath and its contractors removed a foot of dirt from the 30-by-90-foot area, spread lime and then brought in new dirt to cover it.
The operation involved shutting down the northbound lane of Highway 101, flaggers, lights and warning signs, staging dump trucks in downtown Yachats and the Devil’s Churn parking lot and backhoes and other dirt-removal equipment.
The accident occurred Saturday afternoon when a northbound Tillamook Milk tanker truck and trailer swerved to avoid a southbound car that had crossed the centerline. The tanker’s trailer overturned and spilled its load onto the ground to the east of Highway 101 at the edge of Amanda Creek. The truck driver was not injured. The driver of the car that apparently swerved into his lane did not stop.
Oregon State Police originally estimated the spill at 29,000 gallons. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality officials on Monday said the spill was one-tenth of that initial estimate. The accident happened where the driveway of Joanne Kittel, a well-known Yachats trails advocate, enters the highway.
NWFF Environmental responded Saturday, putting down plastic over the area.
Katherine Benenati, a spokeswoman for the DEQ in Eugene, said the cleanup should alleviate any nuisance issues with the milk. Benenati said while milk can smell, foul waterways and attract pests, it is not defined as a hazardous material which have a very specific definitions under state and federal law.
Neighbors said Sunday that some of the spill had reached Amanda Creek. Benenati said NWFF Environmental checked that report and could not find evidence of the milk in the creek. There are no anadromous fish the in the creek.
The area where the milk spilled is part of the debris flow from December 2015 that wiped out the bridge across the Amanda Trail. Kittel estimates the new soil in that area is six feet deep. The property belongs to ODOT because it is in the Highway 101 right of way.
