The spill occurred between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. An estimated 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of waste oil leaked from the Jerry Rieger chicken farm at 152 Buck Road. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife workers found several coho salmon fry dead, but overall damage is yet to be determined, said Department of Ecology spill responder Ron Holcomb. The dead salmon were found in a smaller stream that feeds Lincoln Creek, said Holcomb.
Most waste oil is used motor oil.
It can contain multiple ingredients, all toxic to the environment, he said. The oil was apparently pumped from an 8,000-gallon tank into heaters for the chickens between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The farmer turned on the pumps at about 5 p.m., and then apparently forgot to turn them off, Holcomb said. Though containment structures were in place, a secondary tank overflowed into the barn, across a pasture and into a drainage ditch that empties into the creek, Holcomb said. The farmer told officials he believed his main tank was about half-full.