At approximately 2:30 PM on 12/27/17, a fuel truck was involved in a highway accident and overturned on the side of Route 495 South in Littleton, MA. Out of the 10,000 gallons of fuel oil in the tanker, it is estimated that 1,000 gallons of product was released to the ground surface, culverts and downstream wetlands (9,000 gallons were recovered from the overturned tanker).
During the response phase, a contractor hired by the responsible party was recovering the remaining product from the tanker while a contractor for the MA DEP was removing oil from the culvert/catch basins and downstream wetlands. Due to ice, ample brush, and quick deployment of boom and sorbent material, it did not appear that any oil reached Beaver Brook, just beyond the wetland.
An LSP has been hired by the RP and will be overseeing cleanup activities until completion, expected to be in the spring of 2018.
