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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 21, 2006 DEQ proposes spill-cleanup end By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune ASHLAND — The state Department of Environmental Quality is prepared to close the books on the cleanup of a 500-gallon herbicide spill on the Siskiyou Summit in 2004 that tainted springs and surface water there. Tests completed last summer show only trace and safe levels of the herbicide 2,4-D in groundwater and a nearby creek where the herbicide was found after the Oak Harbor Freight Lines crash on Oct. 23, 2004, according to the DEQ. The DEQ plans to release a report May 1 detailing the cleanup effort and test results, including the agency’s recommendation that no further cleanup is needed, said Angie Obery, who managed the process for the DEQ. The DEQ will then open a 30-day comment period on the report, which will be available for public perusal at the Ashland library, Obery said. If no new information comes to light, "we’ll consider it complete and we’ll approve the cleanup activities," Obery said. Advertisement Some residents of the Old Siskiyou Highway area said the report will close the last chapter in the Oak Harbor saga. "It’s a little anxiety that’s over with," said Ron Bergquist, owner of Callahan’s Lodge, who is building a house in the area where the groundwater was originally tainted by the herbicide. The spill occurred when an Oak Harbor Freight Lines truck swerved on Interstate 5 to avoid a deer and overturned, spilling about 500 gallons of Weedar 64 near milepost 6. The herbicide tainted dirt as well as nearby Carter Creek before eventually working its way into the water table. While a private environmental firm was called in to clean up the tainted water and dirt, the DEQ immediately ordered groundwater tests for fewer than a dozen downhill water sources. The tests were ordered because 2,4-D can cause nervous system, kidney and liver problems in people exposed to high levels of the substance. About 45 days after the spill, some neighbors complained that their water began to smell and taste odd. Tests on some of those water supplies later showed traces of 2,4-D or the substance’s breakdown agent. After 2005 spring rains, however, the various wells and Carter Creek showed only trace or undetectable levels of 2,4-D, and none of the wells ever tested at what the Environmental Protection Agency considers to be unsafe levels. During more well tests last June, the only trace amounts of 2,4-D or its breakdown agent were detected in one well, which fed water to Bill and Mary Anne Wallace’s house. Bill Wallace said Thursday that any trace of the herbicide had seemed to disappear. "I never could tell anything, except the smell from the creek," Bill Wallace said. Kurt Rosenthal, a cleanup critic who has complained that a spring he uses for drinking water remains tainted though tests showed it was clean, could not be reached for comment Thursday. No new testing or cleanup has occurred since June, Obery said. Formal closing of the cleanup could be delayed if a public meeting on the report is requested by 10 or more people, or any group with a membership of at least 10 people, Obery said. If requested, the meeting would be set, likely in June, after an opportunity for public notice, Obery said. Written comments on the report should be mailed to Oregon DEQ, 1102 Lincoln St., Suite 210, Eugene, OR 97401. Comments can be sent electronically to [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s