KINDERHOOK—The Columbia County Office of Emergency Management reports that at noon today (September 12) a Long Energy tractor trailer tanker containing 8,000 gallons of fuel oil rolled onto its side at the roundabout by the Hannaford Plaza resulting in a fuel spill.
At 12:30 p.m. a State of Emergency was declared in a two-mile radius of the incident. Local businesses in the area have been closed as a precaution. Currently State Route 9H from County Route 28 to Keegan Road and State Farm Road is closed to all traffic. It is expected to be closed for at least the next three to four hours, according to a press release issued at 4 p.m.
The Niverville Fire Department is the on-scene command with assistance from the Valatie and Kinderhook departments. South Schodack is assisting with traffic control and West Ghent is on-scene with the county foam bank. Chatham is on stand-by for Niverville and Valatie.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Response Team has determined that the fuel that was not contained on the roadways and has entered the storm drains and is being held in a storm drainage pond. State officials do not believe there is any impact to local water supplies. About 5,000 gallons was drained from the surface roads with the remainder entering the storm drains or still in the tanker truck.
Additionally on scene are: State Police, who will be handling the accident investigation, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia County Fire Coordinator’s Office, Emergency Management Office, Greenport Rescue, Valatie Rescue, Columbia County and Greene HazMat Teams, Kinderhook Highway Department, Columbia County Department of Public Works, and the state Department of Transportation.
