This is the most current information about DEQ’s response efforts in Monmouth, where gasoline leaked into the sewer system and caused gasoline vapors to enter several buildings on Main Street.
QUICK FACTS
Date of incident: April 2, 2021
Location: Monmouth, Main Street and Highway 99
Product: Gasoline, estimated 14,000 gallons
Cause: Leaking underground gas storage tank
Responding entities: Oregon DEQ, City of Monmouth, Polk County Fire District No. 1, Northwest Dealerco Holdings LLC
Status Updates
April 23, 4 p.m.
Road repair is complete and Main Street is fully open at Highway 99 in Monmouth. Main Street reopened earlier this week, but a portion of the sidewalk remains closed.
Air monitoring in nearby buildings indicates fuel vapor levels are dropping. Sampling at the city’s wastewater treatment plant also indicate fuel levels in the sewer system are dropping. Cleanup crews have dug a trench to intercept gasoline moving underground at the gas station where the leak occurred. Crews have recovered approximately 3,500 gallons of gasoline.
Additional soil removal will be conducted at the station, along with long-term monitoring of air, soil and groundwater.
This will likely be the final update for the emergency response portion of the cleanup.
April 16, 5 p.m.
Cleanup and road work at Main Street and Highway 99 in Monmouth will continue this weekend. Crews aim to reopen Main Street as soon as possible.
Find the latest road conditions at TripCheck.com.
April 14, 4:30 p.m.
Cleanup crews at the gas station leak at Main Street and Highway 99 in Monmouth will move to a 24-hour work schedule starting Thursday in an effort to reopen Main Street as soon as possible. NWFF Environmental will be notifying nearby businesses and residents of the schedule change.
The afterhours contact number for NWFF is 800-942-4614.
For the latest on road conditions go to TripCheck.com.
April 13, 4:30 p.m.
Following a review of records, DEQ estimates that up to 14,000 gallons of gasoline may have been released into soil beneath the gas station at Highway 99 and Main Street in Monmouth. The full amount of the release is still being calculated. Cleanup crews have recovered 2,700 gallons of fuel so far and progress continues.
DEQ is overseeing the cleanup with the goals of protecting public health and the environment. Cleanup crews have stopped the release of fuel into the municipal sewer system, and air monitoring field meters have shown no new reports of gas odors in nearby buildings. Monmouth’s drinking water system does not appear to be affected and DEQ is collecting water samples to ensure water is safe.
A line failure at the top of a 12,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tank appears to have caused the release of fuel. The tank was periodically filled without knowledge of the release. The majority of the release occurred from late March to early April.
The cleanup includes heavy equipment and digging, which has prompted the closure of a portion of Main Street near the intersection. Crews are mitigating traffic impacts as much as possible, but the closure will continue the remainder of this week and into next week. The detour takes travelers on Jackson Street to Catron Street or Clay Street to Catron Street. Go to TripCheck.com for the latest road conditions.
April 9, 4:45 p.m.
The gasoline leak cleanup is ongoing and involves digging to find where fuel has spread into groundwater.
We are currently trying to eliminate any impact to the City of Monmouth’s sewer system. DEQ and the cleanup contractor, NWFF Environmental, are also monitoring air near the spill for gasoline vapors, both outside and inside nearby buildings. Air monitoring indicates that gasoline vapor is decreasing in the sewer.
Cleanup for a spill such as this involves heavy equipment and lane or road closures. We’re asking people to please slow down and be aware of congestion at Highway 99 and Main Street in Monmouth. Go to TripCheck.com for the latest road conditions.
April 8, 5 p.m.
The cleanup contractor hired by the owner of the 76 station in Monmouth, NWFF, has a team of eight people monitoring the air at the site and along the sewer line.
So far, crews have removed 800 gallons of gasoline from groundwater. Cleanup activities will extend into Main Street and may affect traffic through the intersection with Highway 99.
The Oregon Department of Transportation advises travelers to avoid the area or use alternative routes. Go to TripCheck.com for the latest road conditions.
April 7, 3:30 p.m.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, City of Monmouth and Polk County Fire District No. 1 are responding to a gasoline leak that entered the sewer system and caused gasoline odors in several buildings near the corner of Main Street and Highway 99 in Monmouth.
The agencies are monitoring air quality to ensure public safety. The city is cleaning gas from the sewer system. Sewer service for residents is not affected.
The leak has stopped, and Oregon DEQ is overseeing cleanup at the 76 gas station. The current estimated release is 2,500 gallons.
If you are in a building and smell gas, evacuate and call 911.
Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting but is subject to change as new information becomes available.
Media contacts
Dylan Darling, 541-600-6119, dylan.darling@deq.state.or.us
Laura Gleim, 503-577-3697, laura.gleim@deq.state.or.us