DEP To Update Wallagrass Community On Positive Progress In Gas Spill Clean-Up
June 27, 2012
Contact: Samantha DePoy-Warren, Maine DEP Director of Communications samantha.depoy-warren@maine.gov / (207) 287-5842
-The department expects the July 12 meeting to be the final one needed as the clean-up has been more effective than expected-
WALLAGRASS ? A year after 5,000 gallons of gasoline was spilled in a tanker truck accident on Route 11 in Wallagrass, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will update residents there on the positive progress made so far with the clean-up and outline changing remediation plans moving forward.
In partnership with the Town of Wallagrass, DEP, which is overseeing the site?s remediation, will host a community meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 12 at the Wallagrass Elementary School.
It?s the third public meeting the department has held since the spill as part of its ongoing commitment to communicating with the community about the process and the progress of the clean-up work.
It is expected to be the last as efforts to recover the spilled fuel and remove risks to the environment and public health have been more effective than expected, though the agency assures residents it will continue to communicate through its Wallagrass website, home and site visits for sampling, and individualized written and telephone correspondence.
At the July 12 meeting, DEP Wallagrass Project Manager Andrew Flint will share air and water monitoring data that demonstrates the progress and discuss how risks from contamination have greatly decreased across the site. He?ll also talk about changes to the remediation plan that residents can expect to see in the coming weeks and months.
Additionally DEP Northern Maine Regional Office Director Nick Archer will speak at the meeting and acknowledge those who have collaborated to make the clean-up so successful, including the lead remediation contractor Stantec as well as County Environmental Engineering, Inc., Clean Harbors, Renaud Electric, Ed Pelletier & Sons, Marquis Well Drilling, Norlens Water Treatment, Katahdin Analytical, Northeast Lab Service, Alpha Analytical and Acadian Springs water.
Wallagrass Town Manager Jim Gagnon will also speak, and DEP responder Frank Wezner, who was one of the first on-scene and helped to contain the spill and prevent further discharges of the tanker?s total on-board 8,200 gallons of gas, will be present and available to answer questions.
For more information about the Wallagrass spill and the ongoing remediation efforts in response, visit http://www.maine.gov/dep/spills and click on ?Wallagrass Spill? under ?Sites.?
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