Fuel spill reported at Olympia School District’s bus barn

Washington State Department of Ecology workers responded to a gasoline spill that was reported at about 1:20 p.m. Monday at the Olympia School District’s bus barn in the 3000 block of RW Johnson Boulevard in Tumwater.

“It looks like a tank truck was filling an underground storage tank, and it looks like they had a vapor lock,” said department spokeswoman Sandy Howard.

The cause of the spill is still under investigation, Howard said.

Crews originally reported that up to 200 gallons had spilled, but by Monday evening the amount had been downgraded to 20 to 50 gallons, Howard said.

“The gas ran across the asphalt to a catch basin where an undetermined amount entered the stormwater retention pond,” she said. “There is a sheen on the retention pond. We did not observe any impacts outside of the retention pond.”

Olympia School District spokeswoman Susan Gifford said the district has hired an environmental cleanup contractor “to both determine the extent of the spill and perform all necessary cleanup measures.”

“All fuel tanks will be thoroughly inspected to ensure that leakage was not a contributing factor to the spill,” she said. “The district is working to determine if the spill was caused by a district equipment malfunction or the actions of the vendor.”

Gifford said the spill appears to have been contained in the storm drain system, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife said there was no immediate danger to wildlife.

However, Howard said the gasoline may be affecting stormwater ponds or wetlands off site, and crews will work with the contractor to determine the extent of the damage.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Fuel spill reported at Olympia School District’s bus barn."