The creek has received a great deal of restoration work that has included streamside revegetation, fencing to keep livestock out of the creek, and off-channel habitat development. However, the area affected by the spill has received no restoration work. The spill is worst in a 1.5-mile stretch of Lincoln Creek below the farm, which is about 10 miles upstream from the Chehalis River. Spill responders' oil booms and naturally occurring log booms and oxbows in the creek have helped curb the floating oil. It can suffocate fish, and it can get onto feathers and fur and be deadly to wildlife.
Most waste oil is used motor oil.
It can contain multiple ingredients, all toxic to the environment. The spill occurred Tuesday night when waste oil leaked from a chicken farm owned by Jerry Reiger on Buck Road west of Centralia. Reiger used the waste oil to heat his chicken barns.