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Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Diesel Spill near Little Marais, Minnesota
Cleanup crews contained the diesel spill within two hours of the truck accident on Highway 61 near Little Marais, but some of the fuel reached Lake Superior.
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Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Diesel Spill near Little Marais, Minnesota
Crews will monitor the shoreline this week and clean up any fuel found.
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Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Diesel Spill near Little Marais, Minnesota
The spilled fuel followed a natural stormwater channel to the Lake, where the MPCA reported a diesel odor and sheen along the shoreline Tuesday evening.
An estimated 75 to 80 gallons of diesel fuel spilled on Minnesota’s North Shore following a truck accident Tuesday afternoon. Some of the diesel reached Lake Superior, says the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
A semi on Highway 61 lost control and rolled into the ditch near Little Marais. A small amount of the fuel that leaked from the truck followed a stormwater channel 1,000 feet to the Lake.
According to the MPCA, cleanup crews used absorbent booms to contain the spill within two hours of the accident. Fuel was found in eddies along the shore, but there were no recoverable amounts of fuel accumulating in the Lake. However, diesel odors and a petroleum sheen were reported Tuesday evening along 1,350 feet of shoreline, the MPCA says. Crews will monitor the site this week and mop up any fuel found.
Residents are being advised to avoid areas of the shoreline where an odor or sheen is present.