The Staff of the Jicarilla Environmental Protection Office initiated the cleanup of tar that spilled from an over turned tanker truck.

The accident occurred in an area that was being used as a parking/turn around for heavy equipment. 

Fortunately tar is quite heavy and does not rapidly move down through the soil.  Therefore cleanup was relatively straight forward.  The clean up involved skimming the first few inches of soil and tar from the ground.  The tar and contaminated soil was then placed in a dump truck along with sand from off location.  The additional sand kept the tar from sticking to the insides of the dump trucks.

The contaminated soil and sand was then hauled off the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and disposed of at the soil remediation site of the company performing the cleanup.

The Environmental Office staff are an integral part of the cleanup process.  The Environmental Office obtains “Statements of  Qualifications” from the contractors and all involved before any cleanup work begins.  The Environmental Office also oversees any sampling of soil both before, during and after cleanup.  This ensures that the area is cleaned to a level deemed safe.

Jicarilla Environmental Protection Office Staff Oversee the Cleanup of  Tracker Trailer Accident.

Fortunately tar is quite heavy and does not rapidly move down through the soil.