When a tanker truck overturns, and leaks out on the road and surrounding area, cleanup can be a nightmare, as officials discovered when it happened last Thursday afternoon. What made things especially difficult, however was what the tanker was hauling – 9,000 gallons of liquid manure.
Along with a picture on Facebook last Friday, Clare EMD (Clare Emergency Management Director) Jerry Becker posted, “This afternoon’s action. Not a great aroma – 8,000 gal. [of] liquid pig manure. No one hurt [was the] main thing. Great job again, Surrey Fire Department. [It’s] always great to work with your crew!”
A release from the Clare County Sheriff’s Office said the call came in on April 30th at 3:18 p.m.
Deputies responding to the call arrived to find that a 1996 Peterbilt tanker truck, being driven by 62-year-old Ronald Vogel of Weidman had been traveling south east on Cadillac Drive when he attempted to make a left turn onto South Harding Avenue. The truck rolled over on its side, spilling part of the liquid fertilizer out onto the roadway and into a marshy area along with diesel fuel. Clare County Emergency Management and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality were called to the scene for the clean-up operations.
No injuries were reported because of the crash, which is still under investigation.
Assisting at the scene: Surrey Fire; Clare Emergency Management; the Dept. of Environmental Quality; Green’s Wrecker Service and the Clare County Road Commission.
