(Host) An oil spill sent an estimated 12-hundred gallons of diesel fuel into the Black River in North Springfield over the weekend.
The diesel originated in a lot behind the Black River Produce facility, in an area where the company’s delivery trucks fill their tanks.
Black River Produce Co-owner Mark Curran says a bicyclist noticed the spill Sunday morning. Curran says the spill was deliberately caused.
(Curran) "They just purposely took – there’s two hoses on the tank, and they took both hoses and opened up the nozzles and just laid them on the ground. Unfortunately it went onto our parking lot and then there’s a storm drain on our parking lot, so it just goes through our parking lot and into the Black River."
(Host) Emergency responders sealed the storm drain and have been using river booms and pads to contain the oil, and vacuum trucks to skim the diesel from the river.
A spokesman for E-C-S Environmental Services of Brattleboro, the company hired for the cleanup, says it appears that much of the oil has been captured. The spokesman says the booms will likely be in place for a few weeks.
Springfield police are investigating the incident.