The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is returning Friday to the site of a crude oil spill at a northwest Lyon County waterway.
KDHE Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs Matt Lara says the agency was notified of the spill on a tributary of Wright Creek on Sunday. Lara says the affected stream is not flowing at this time, so water quality issues have been limited to a stagnant pool. Booms have been used downstream to prevent any crude oil spread.
Lara also says no dead fish or wildlife have been found.
On Tuesday, Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell confirmed a spill of around 50 gallons near Roads 300 and D, about eight miles northwest of Americus and five miles southwest of Bushong. Early indications are a crew with Lighthouse Drilling Company of El Dorado was using a pump truck to remove water from a non-flowing waterway when the spill developed. A valve was apparently opened before the pump was primed.
Fell says Lighthouse self-reported and started the remediation/mitigation process. Lara says KDHE has an on-site presence Sunday through Wednesday to make sure the cleanup process will restore the waterway to its normal state.
