Dumpsters lining Saguaro Boulevard early this week indicate there is still work to be done in cleaning up a gasoline spill after a fuel tanker ruptured in an accident early Sunday morning, Nov. 17.

Town Manager Ken Buchanan has made it clear that he expects the tanker operator to do all necessary clean-up from the spill.

In a letter to an executive of United Petroleum Transports, the Oklahoma-based company that operated the fuel tanker, Buchanan stated the recommendation of a consultant (Kleinfelder, Inc. of Tempe) hired by the town to examine the contamination.

“Kleinfelder has recommended removal of the contaminated soil as soon as possible,” Buchanan stated in the letter. “This includes the area underneath the pavement on Trevino Drive and Saguaro Boulevard as well as all curbing.”

Buchanan noted that town staff was present when the soil samples were collected and there was both visual and odor evidence that there was fuel contamination.

Results of the fuel sampling tests results released early Monday indicate presence of gasoline compounds in the soil along Trevino Drive and in a storm drainage area along Saguaro north of Monterey Drive near the Baptist Church.

Cleanharbors has been hired by United Petroleum Transport to clean up the spill. Initial efforts for the clean-up took place behind the curb along Trevino Drive near the site of the spill and the area where a drainage culvert crosses under Saguaro.

As of Monday morning no work had begun in removing the asphalt or soil along the shoulder of Saguaro.

“Please make sure this scope is included in the overall remediation plan and started as soon as possible,” Buchanan said in his letter.

In the next year to 18 months the town is planning major street construction involving Saguaro between Shea and Trevino and then reconstruction north of that.

Development Services Director Paul Mood said the town wants to be sure the spill is cleaned up properly so there is nothing the town will need to do when the planned construction begins.

The fuel transport company reported to the National Response Center for hazardous materials incidents that 2,300 gallons of gasoline had spilled from the tanker truck.

The driver had just completed a delivery at the Circle K on Saguaro at Shea. As he was leaving the site the tanker scraped against a gate post of a dumpster containment area for the adjacent McDonald’s restaurant.

A video recording from a security camera on a nearby building shows a large amount of fuel gushing from the tanker on initial contact. Six minutes later into the video a Sheriff’s deputy shines a flashlight under the truck showing a steady flow still leaking from the tanker.