A Hop Energy fuel truck carrying home heating oil rolled over in the area of 116 Mohonk Road in High Falls at approximately 8:27 a.m. this morning, August 15.
Ulster County sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call minutes later to find the operator of the truck uninjured, but the truck leaking fuel over the ground. The sheriff’s office estimated “several thousand gallons” had spilled.
Speaking on background in order to contest exaggerated accounts of the spill published in area newspapers, a county official said that the capacity of the truck was no more than 2800 gallons and was probably not full when the rollover occurred.
The truck was able to be righted and the spilling fuel halted.
In the case of a spill of a toxic chemical, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) mandates cleanup operations funded by the company that operated the vehicle. An unidentified environmental contractor has already been out to the scene.
“So they contain the spill to keep it from spreading any more,” explained a DEC employee. “And then they use a vacuum truck to vacuum whatever they can, and then whatever is absorbed into the soil, the soil has to be removed either by hand or excavating. It’s not a quick thing.”
Spilled was a number two fuel, similar to kerosene or diesel and dyed red. It’s used for fuel tanks to heat homes.
Six hours after the spill, Kingston Fire Department personnel loitered under the drizzling rain near a roadblock, redirecting traffic at the intersection of School Hill Road and Mohonk Road. The flashing red lights of a fire engine livened the grey day.
The sheriff’s office says that Mohonk Road between School Hill and Cedar Hill roads will remain closed for approximately 24 hours while a fuel-spill crew cleans the area.
After initial remediation of the spill site is completed, the DEC will continue to monitor the situation and test soil samples. The incident remains an open case until the agency is satisfied with the cleanup.
Kosco Heritage Energy at 625 Sawkill Road in Ulster is part of Hop Energy, a full-service energy company with operations in eight states from Delaware to Massachusetts. It has a branch office in Westchester County.
The sheriff’s office is investigating the cause of the incident.
Perry’s Towing righted the fallen truck. Deputies were assisted at the scene by the State Police and county Department of Emergency Services. The DEC Police, the City of Kingston Fire Department, High Falls Fire Department, Cottekill Fire Department, Stone Ridge Fire Department, Accord Fire Department, Rosendale Fire Department, Bloomington Fire Department, Tillson Fire Department, Spring Lake Fire Department, MarbletownRescue, Town of Esopus Volunteer Ambulance Squad, Mobile Life Support Services, New York State DEC Spill Response, Vasco Spill Response and other agencies responded to the event.
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