Maine environment department says fuel continues to leak into waters near train derailment

By Lori Valigra, Bangor Daily News Staff

Fuel, hydraulic fluid and engine oil has saturated soil and is moving into nearby Moose River near the freight train derailment in rural Somerset County, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection confirmed Tuesday.

The DEP said it is working with Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad to remove the oil using absorbent material. CPKC has sent its oil spill response team to the site about 15 miles east of Jackman near Rockwood where the train derailed Saturday morning. 

Seven train cars, including three locomotives and four lumber cars, received significant fire damage and are still at the location. The hazardous materials on two other derailed cars were removed over the weekend and did not leak, the DEP said.

The Bangor Daily News first reported Monday that the leak had entered nearby waterways. The DEP said the engine oil, hydraulic fluid and fuel has saturated the soil onsite and is moving into the nearby Moose River, which feeds into the Brassua Lake.

“This is contributing to an oil sheen that is visible from the derailment site to the lake,” DEP Deputy Commissioner David Madore said in a statement.

He said the DEP and CPKC are working to assess how much fluid is present. Biologists from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife also were surveying the area on Tuesday to assess any potential impact to wildlife.  Brassua Lake is known for its brook trout and salmon fishing.

The focus now is to contain and clean up the oil that has spilled into the waterway and remove the remaining rail cars to minimize further oil saturating the soil. The train cars derailed in a remote, forested area. Maine DEP’s HazMat Response team is working on the scene to assess and monitor environmental impacts. The extent of the leak and cleanup timing were not known.

The spring thaw is making it harder to clean up the area because large equipment must be brought to the site. The railway has already filled in a logging road with gravel to help smooth transport.