Saturday, February 15, 2014

Oil Spill in Hominy Creek/French Broad River

Boom under the Brevard Road Bridge, Note hole where oil is
streaming through.
Okay, so it is in one place. Here is what I know about the spill. Yesterday an unknown amount of #2 Fuel Oil spilled from a tank at Harrison Construction on Smoky Park Highway (above the quarry). For some reason, the oil escaped the installed containment pond and got to the storm drains. Several workers from the quarry used equipment there to throw up berms of dirt to stop more oil, but an amount got into Hominy Creek.
Around 3pm, the US EPA and NCDENR were notified of the spill, and Harrision hired NEO contracting to mitigate the spill. Booms were placed near the spill site.
Around 8pm, Sheri and I were checking on our beaver tree and noticed a strong odor of petro-chemicals. Upon getting home, we saw a small blurb about an oil spill on WLOS's FB site.
This morning at first light, we went looking for booms, but could only find one downstream of the spill (Under the Brevard Road bridge) and it was breached with heavy product and crude streaming through the hole.
Shortly later we went to the French Broad River and found oil there. At that time, we called the RiverKeeper, Asheville Greenworks, the Asheville Fire Department and the US EPA.
THis morning the Asheville FD placed a boom across Hominy Creek to keep further oil from getting into the French Broad River. 
I hope it works.


Oil along the near shore of the French Broad River this morning.

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