Sap spill finds its way into Eldridge creek
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
Tree sap that is used to keep down dust on gravel roads and parking lots spilled into an Eldridge, Iowa, creek prompting an Iowa Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, inspection and clean-up by River Valley Cooperative.
The spill of about 5,000 gallons of the sap was discovered Wednesday by River Valley employees at a co-op parking lot at 201 S. 18th Ave. By Thursday, some of the sap flowed into a nearby cornfield and into an unnamed tributary of Crow Creek, said Ryan Stouder, a DNR environmental specialist who visited the site.
“River Valley buys the sap in large quantities and then turns around and sells it,” Stouder said. “When they were off loading it, apparently there was a broken valve and they lost about 5,000 gallons. About 1,000 gallons got into the water.”
Dave Schulz, a manager for the co-op, said the substance is environmentally friendly. The co-op buys it from paper and pulp mills and resells it for use in dust suppression. Soil that was covered with the sap was being excavated Friday and removed.
The co-op also pumped a portion of the creek and sprayed the sap-tainted water on surrounding land, Stouder said. While sap is not normally consider a hazardous pollutant “anything in enough quantity has the potential to be harmful,” he said.
The co-op reported the spill to state environmental officials shortly after it was discovered.
Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
reddit() comments
» More Local Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Introducing Maghound™
- Get All Your Favorite Magazines For as Low as $4.95 per Month.
- MAGHOUND.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Holy Grail of eMarketing
- All-in-One Email Marketing Solution 1000s of Big Companies Trust Us.
- www.Lyris.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
