Natural Resource Damage Assessment for Yaquina River Oil Spill

Client: Blue Line Transportation

Location: Portland, OR

Summary: A crash of an oil tanker truck resulted in a 10,000-gallon diesel fuel spill into the Yaquina River and investigations of the river by state, federal, and tribal trustees. Cardno ENTRIX scientists collected sediment and water samples immediately after the spill and additional sediment and invertebrate samples several weeks later to assess the potential for natural resource injuries and human health effects at the spill site, downstream fish redds, and public fishing areas. Cardno ENTRIX prepared an analysis that included fingerprinting studies of sediment and water in contaminated areas subject to multiple sources of oil, a screening human health and ecological risk evaluation, and macroinvertebrate metrics analysis in accordance with Oregon regulations.

Highlights: The combined forensics and risk assessment approach of the Cardno ENTRIX report gave the trustees a convincing basis to determine that no additional emergency measures were required, that there were no human health concerns from the spill, and to facilitate negotiations to efficiently move the project from the response phase to the restoration phase.