Fish damage assessed in fuel spill
Bill Scanlon
Published November 15, 2007 at 10:43 a.m.
BOULDER — Wildlife officials are assessing the damage to fish in Boulder Creek after diesel fuel leaked into the waterway where it passes the University of Colorado.
Sandbags and dirt helped stem the fuel truck leak, but cleanup operations are expected to take two days, CU officials said. Cleanup extends from University Avenue to the 17th Street Bridge.
Students living in nearby dormitories were notified. There is no immediate danger to the students, CU officials said.
The amount of the spill and the extent of the damage haven't been determined.
A worker for the construction contractor, New Design Construction Co. of Denver, was working Wednesday afternoon on a storm drainage project behind Macky Auditorium, refueling a backhoe, when he noticed the fuel leaking from the truck.
He said he thought the truck may have been leaking for 10 or 15 minutes.
The Boulder Fire Department and CU health, safety and law officials responded.
Custom Environmental Services of Denver is doing the cleanup.
New Design Construction was issued a citation for discharge into the stormwater utility system.
CU "has received assurances that our contractor will work with city and state officials on a complete cleanup of this spill," Derrick Watson, director of Environmental Health and Safety at CU-Boulder, said.
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