Gas spill cleanup near Schellville could take up to 4 weeks

Effects from the rollover of a tanker filled with gasoline last Saturday, Nov. 16, has spilled over into at least another two more weeks of clean-up – and possibly as long as a month, say the agencies responsible.

The immediate impact of the accident was dramatic. “People here heard a loud crash and scraping sounds,” said Chris Sebastiani, general manager of Viansa Sonoma Winery near the scene of the crash. “It was relatively alarming.”

The air at the winery remained thick with the smell of spilled fuel several days after the incident.

The driver of the northbound truck-trailer combination apparently lost control of the vehicle after it crested a small hill near Viansa at about 10:30 a.m. that Saturday. The trailer with its nearly-full load of fuel overturned and spilled its load onto the roadway, which then flowed off the road into a shallow culvert.

The trailer had a capacity of 4,500 gallons, though opinions differ over whether or not the full load was lost. The Sonoma County’s permit department, Permit Sonoma, issued a statement saying only 3,000 gallons spilled, thanks to “a successful stinger operation.” That means the overturned tank was punctured and its load transferred to a waiting recovery truck.

But others said that most if not all of the gas spilled and could not be recovered.

“Fire resources remained at the scene for approximately 6.5 hours,” said Kevin Plume of the Schell-Vista Fire Department, first responders to the incident. “An estimated 4,000 to 4,500 gallons of fuel leaked from the ruptured tank. As a result, no fuel was left to be transferred from the tank.”

Plume said the material was identified as hazardous by the placard on the truck which read, “1203 – Gasoline.” His team took immediate action to contain the spill and clear the scene, and was finished by 5 p.m. that evening.

In any case, the damage was far from over when the gas on the pavement evaporated in the sun, and that which spilled into the ground was absorbed. Though the location of the spill is on Viansa property, it’s not far from the protected wetlands along Sonoma Creek, and the impact of a hazardous material like gasoline made it a health and environmental concern. So on Tuesday, Nov. 19, a group of affected agencies met at Viansa Winery, near the site of the spill.

The truck was licensed to Rinehart Oil, a small second-generation trucking company based in Ukiah and, according to the CHP, it’s the trucking company that bears responsibility for the clean-up.

“We are working with all the regulatory agencies and state representatives to clean up and repair the accident site as fast as possible,” said Reed Rinehart, president of the company, in a statement to the Index-Tribune.

Rinehart contracted with Simpson and Simpson for the clean-up operation. Though the off-road area of the spill has been covered by a plastic tarp to prevent its spread by winds, they outlined a plan that would excavate all of the contaminated soil in an operation scheduled to begin on Monday, Nov. 24. They estimated the clean-up could last between two and four weeks.

Traffic on Highway 121, which has been under intermittent traffic control since the accident, almost certainly will be affected during that period of time.

For Vinasa, the accident could not have come at a worse time, said Sebastiani.

On Saturday, Viansa was evacuated and yellow police tape was draped across Viansa’s access driveway.

“We had a few big things planned for that day,” Sebastiani said, citing not only the quarterly wine-club pick up and weekend tasting room activity, but a corporate meeting at the site on that Saturday, and an evening special event, the Golden State Salmon Association’s annual fundraising dinner.

With the highway closed in both directions the winery had to close for the day, and the salmon dinner was postponed until Feb. 1.

“We had no choice at that point but to postpone,” said Michael Coats, communications consultant for the Golden State Salmon Association. “(Congressman) Mike Thompson was coming, we had a nice crowd coming. It’s a nice fundraiser for salmon, which are under siege right now, from all directions.”

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.