Mystery of Columbia River biodiesel spill solved

Investigators believe they have found the source of the mystery biodiesel spill in the Columbia River.

Last week US officials confirmed that biodiesel had leaked into the Columbia River somewhere close to Wenatchee, Washington. Exactly where the spill originated remained a mystery, however.

A coordinated investigation by state and federal authorities has now identified Coleman Oil, a fuelling facility near the river, as the source of the biodiesel spill. Investigators had focused their search on the facility as it is one of the few biodiesel plants in the area.

Coleman Oil worked with the state and federal officials to excavate parts of the site. They unearthed leaking pipes and soil saturated with red and yellow biodiesel fuels.

“The samples in the soil and the pipes matched the samples we’ve collected from the river,” Dave Bryers, manager of Ecology’s state-wide spill response program, told NBC. “We appreciate the company helping us locate the source of the leak.”

Bob Coleman of Coleman Oil told NBC: “At Coleman Oil Company a core value of ours is environmental stewardship. We deeply regret that there was a release to the environment that appears to have originated at our Wenatchee facility. We will work diligently to contain and eliminate the release, in continued cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies.”

The first signs of the spill were spotted on 17 March, when an oil sheen was noticed on the river and a diesel odour reported in the area between Thurston and Chehalis Streets, Wenatchee.