Moorhead

Fire Dept

111 12th St N

Moorhead MN  56560

(218) 299-5432

Spill slows traffic on Interstate 94

By Dave Olson,The Forum
Published Saturday, August 14, 2004

A truck hauling gasoline and diesel fuel rolled Friday morning on Interstate 94 five miles east of Moorhead, spilling about 800 gallons of fuel and slowing traffic on the interstate for eight hours.

The incident occurred about 7:45 a.m. on the off-ramp to State Highway 336, closing the ramp to traffic for most of the day.

The driver of the truck, identified by the State Patrol as Richard Vernal Poline, 38, of Fargo, had to be extricated from the wreckage, Sgt. Howard Hansen said.

Poline was taken to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, where he was treated and released.

The truck carried about 8,200 gallons of fuel, most of it gasoline, Hansen.

About 720 gallons of gasoline and 80 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the vehicle’s tanker container before fire crews from Glyndon, Dilworth and Moorhead were able to plug the leaks, said Larry Olson, a project manager with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in Detroit Lakes.

Most of the spilled fuel had been collected by late afternoon by a recovery firm hired by Farstad Oil Inc., the Fargo company that owns the truck, Olson said.

The contaminated soil that remained was being removed, he said.

The spill occurred above the Buffalo Aquifer, a major source of water for the city of Moorhead.

The potential for contamination was slight, Olson said, because the recently completed Highway 336/I-94 interchange incorporated a clay liner under the soil to minimize potential seepage of hazardous chemicals into the aquifer.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555

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Last modified: August 02, 2007