The Maine Department of Environmental Protection today released the following update on the cleanup effort following the derailment of a Canadian Pacific (CPKC) freight train in Somerset County on Saturday, April 15, 2023:
The DEP continues to monitor CPKC’s effort to clean up the train derailment site following Saturday’s derailment. Seven train cars, including three locomotives and four wooden cars that sustained significant fire damage as a result of the accident, are still at the scene, an April 18 press release reported.
While the hazardous materials carried by the train were removed from the site over the weekend, fuel, hydraulic fluid and engine oil from the derailed cars still present are saturating the ground at the site and are being moved to the next laughs Moose, who is feeding. in Petit Brassua lake. This contributes to an oil sheen that is visible from the derailment site to the lake. The Maine DEP is working with CPKC to assess the amount of fuel, hydraulic fluid and motor oil at the site, the DEP said.
CPKC’s Oil Spill Response Organization is on site, and they, along with the Maine DEP Response and Technical Services Division and the Maine DEP Aquatic Toxicology Unit, are working to remove the oil using the use of absorbent material. Additionally, Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists are surveying the area today to understand and advise on any potential wildlife impacts.
“The DEP is focused on working with CPKC to contain and clean up the oil that has spilled into the waterway and remove the remaining railcars from the site to minimize oil saturating the soil,” the statement said. “The remote, wooded nature of the area, combined with the spring thaw, makes these efforts more difficult because large equipment must be brought in to move the remaining wagons from the site. After the site has been cleared of debris and “has conducted a thorough environmental damage assessment, the Maine DEP will require that the oil-contaminated soil be removed.”
In addition to members of the Maine DEP Hazard Response Team, who have been working at the site in shifts to assess and monitor environmental impacts, representatives from the Maine Forest Service, the Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife and the CPKC are still on the scene. The Maine Forest Service and the Jackman-Moose River Fire and Rescue Department continue to operate a unified command three miles from the derailment site in Sandwich Academy Grant.
With a focus on debris and environmental cleanup, Maine DEP will take over from the Maine Forest Service to provide updates going forward. Maine DEP will work with partner agencies to provide additional updates as the cleanup effort continues.
