MUNCIE, IN : Riggin still closed day after ethanol truck crash on Monday, November 21st 2016

Riggin Road will remain closed through Monday and could remain closed through most of Tuesday as clean-up continues from an ethanol tanker spill, according to John Coutinho, deputy director of Emergency Management in Delaware County.

The tanker truck carrying about 7,000 gallons of ethanol overturned Sunday afternoon leading to ground contamination.

Environmental Remediation Services in Fort Wayne asked the county to keep the road closed until Monday due to ethanol still being present on the ground. The company wanted to make sure all the fuel still on the ground had dissipated. HAZMAT teams had dug up areas near the field to locate agricultural drain tiles that were siphoning fuel away from the contaminated area.

Coutinho said that as of Monday, Indiana Department of Environmental Management asked for additional work to be done before the road reopened. IDEM will likely have to remove contaminated soil from the area before the road reopens.

PRIOR STORY: An overturned tanker truck carrying about 7,000 gallons of ethanol resulted in Riggin Road being closed to traffic between the Muncie Bypass and Broadway throughout Sunday and into Monday.

The truck rolled over in an accident early Sunday, leaving it on its back with one of the three tanks damaged and leaking the flammable liquid when HazMat crews arrived around 6:30 a.m., according to John Coutinho, deputy director of Emergency Management.

Muncie and Hamilton Township firefighters were the first on scene, with their crews damming the leaking fuel. Fuel that escaped the tanker was vacuumed up Sunday morning while the tanker was drained.

By 1 p.m., the last of the three tanks were being drilled and emptied out before the truck could be turned back over and removed. Emergency responders estimated Riggin Road would remain closed another hour to hour and a half.

According to Coutinho, Environmental Remediation Services in Fort Wayne have asked the county to keep the road closed until Monday due to ethanol still being present on the ground at the scene. The company wanted to make sure all the material was contained so that there is no possibility for accidental ignition of any fuel still on the ground.

Source :
Riggin still closed day after ethanol truck crash