Twenty-four years after an oil spill poisoned parts of Oregon’s Yaquina River, the Fish and Wildlife Service along with state and tribal partners made public Wednesday their long-in-the-making draft restoration plan.
The draft plan and damage assessment calls for acquiring and restoring 316 acres of wetlands habitat near the site of the Jan. 27, 2001, accident.
“This is a cost-effective alternative that has a high likelihood of successfully restoring natural resources lost from the” spill, FWS said in a statement kicking off a 30-day public comment period.
The spill occurred when a Blue Line Transportation-owned tractor-trailer rig carrying 8,300 gallons of fuel oil overturned on U.S. Highway 20, near Toledo, Oregon. The 22-year-old driver died in the accident, according to news accounts at the time, and an estimated 5,800 gallons of fuel oil flowed across the highway, down a steep bank and into the Yaquina River.
