ESTHERVILLE – A small amount of E-85 fuel pooled on top of the frozen West Fork of the Des Moines River on Friday morning after a tank at an Estherville service station that was being filled overflowed and reached a nearby storm sewer.
An estimated 100 gallons of the fuel overflowed when the product was being off-loaded from a truck into a tank at Riverside Sinclair. The fuel flowed to a storm sewer and then approximately 200 yards to the river. Some of the fuel was on top of the ice of the river and an absorbent was being used to clean it up. A barrel was placed at the end of the storm sewer pipe to collect any additional fuel and prevent it from reaching the river.
Any environmental impact to the river is expected to be minimal.
