At approximately 1930 PST Sunday 2/19/17 Washington Department of Ecology contacted Phone Duty Officer Stephen Ball to notify of a release of 3-6,000 gallons of diesel fuel from two fuel tanks servicing a generator. The location of the spill is at Three Sisters (North) Peak at the Pierce County emergency radio tower station in Pierce County, Washington. The station is serviced by the diesel tanks, which hold a maximum capacity of 8,000 gallons. Pierce County maintenance personnel discovered the leak Sunday afternoon while performing maintenance on the station.
The station and surrounding area is characterized by 7-10 foot snow drifts and access was limited to snow cat initially. County personnel were unsure of the exact amount discharged or where it may have migrated. At least two un-named tributary headwaters are located downhill from the site which feed Old Pond Creek and New Pond Creek and may be threatened depending on the flow path. These creeks are known spawning grounds of Federally listed wild steelhead.
Pierce County Public Works crews began clearing the road on Tuesday 2/21/17 in hopes to provide access to cleanup contractors, EPA, and Ecology by Wednesday 2/22/17. OSC Stanfield and Ecology responders began notifying natural resource trustees and will accompany cleanup contractors on a site visit Wednesday to conduct further assessment, assess the threat to the unnamed tributaries, and support Pierce County in developing a cleanup plan. Because the radio tower station supports 911 call capabilities restoring the facility to full operational capacity is a potential life safety issue and thus a high priority.
