Alvord, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has not yet decided if it will file charges against the operator of a truck that overturned in a ditch near Alvord on Tuesday, June 28th.
DNR officials at the Spencer Field Office said that cleanup of the site was completed shortly after the accident. They did note that a small amount of pollutant did reach a small creek, but they said on Friday that they won’t decide whether to file enforcement action until results come back from water tests, which could take two or three weeks. DNR officials say that as of Friday morning, they had had no reports of dead fish.
The accident took place about 8:50 AM on Tuesday. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office reports that the single-vehicle accident happened at the corner of 200th Street and Garfield Avenue, three miles east of Alvord and a mile north. A 2009 Freightliner pulling a dry van trailer was being driven by 21-year-old Devin Faber of Inwood.
They say he attempted to turn east onto 200th Street from Garfield Avenue. The right side wheels of the trailer dropped off the roadway and pulled the trailer into the ditch, according to the report. They say the semi-tractor and trailer both came to rest in the south ditch.
Faber had been hauling 5000 gallons of water, 150 gallons of soybean oil, and numerous boxes of herbicide which spilled into an unnamed creek at the intersection.
The Iowa DNR was called to assist with advising what needed to be done to begin cleanup of the spill. A side dump trailer full of dirt was brought in to dam up the creek. This was to prevent any of the spilled material getting into the Rock River. The truck was righted and a vac truck was brought in to help clean up the spill, according to the DNR.
Both the tractor and trailer were considered a total loss.
Lyon County Deputies were assisted on the scene by the Iowa DNR and Trackside Towing from Alvord.
The Iowa DNR says they will continue to monitor the spill.
