Game and Fish official: Section of Cimarron River still ‘pretty toxic’ after fuel spill
A section of the Cimarron River, south of Cimarron.
About 300 fish and at least one beaver were found dead in the Cimarron River following a tanker accident that caused hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel and gas to spill into the river a few miles east of Eagle Nest, the state Game Commission was told Jan. 12.
The spill in late December occurred in a popular recreation area that includes campgrounds and trout fishing. The area has been closed to the public as cleanup continues.
“It is pretty toxic over there,” Eric Frey, a sport fish program manager at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, told the Game Commission. “You can really smell the diesel.”
The diesel fuel and gas were largely contained by beaver dams, Frey said, killing all fish and aquatic bugs over a span of about 300 yards.
“There is a pretty large-scale restoration program that is happening,” said Alexa Sandoval, director of the Game and Fish Department.
Game Commissioner Bob Ricklefs, who is the ranch superintendent for the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, said the smell of gas was overwhelming when he was in the area Wednesday. He also said a black oil slick was apparent on a bridge.
As of Dec. 30, 1,500 gallons of fuel-contaminated water had been extracted from the river, officials have said. A crew also worked to remove soil and vegetation, and staff from the Environment and Game and Fish departments were on-site.
Soil will be sampled for toxicity, as will surviving fish when the ice covering the river melts in the spring, officials said.
Frey said the department’s investigation stretches from three miles downstream of the spill to a half-mile upstream.
Officials at the Game and Fish Department and the Environment Department, which is leading the cleanup, have declined other comment. Both agencies directed further questions to New Mexico State Police.
A state police spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking further details about the cleanup.
The spill occurred Dec. 2 when a truck hauling a tanker, operated by Fronk Oil Co. of Texas, slid off the road about five miles east of Eagle Nest. When it crashed into the frozen river, an estimated 600 gallons of diesel fuel and a few hundred gallons of gasoline leaked from the tanker, Frey said.
The oil company told The New Mexican the incident was likely caused by slick road conditions. State police cited the driver for careless driving.
The Santa Fe New Mexican is a sister-paper of The Taos News. Contact Rebecca Moss at 505-986-3011 or rmoss@sfnewmexican.com.
