UPDATED: Crews working on the Highway 1 expansion spent Wednesday containing a small spill on Burnaby's Brunette River, after a piece of heavy equipment fell in the water and was leaking diesel.
While no one at the site wished to be interviewed on record, the NOW learned the equipment was a man lift that needed maintenance. While it was being towed out of the area along the Central Valley Greenway, which runs parallel to the river, it fell in the water because of the soft embankment.
Hazmat crews and people from Kiewit-Flatiron were onsite, and the area was cordoned off to the public. There were also booms set up on the water to contain the diesel.
Kiewet-Flatiron is the contractor for the Highway 1/Port Mann expansion project. Spokesperson Greg Johnson said the piece of equipment was being used by one of Kiewet-Flatiron's contractors working on the Highway 1 bridge over the Brunette River. According to Johnson, there were no injuries, and the company's contractor responded immediately by laying out booms around the machine and further down river.
The equipment was eventually pulled from the river, and Johnson told the NOW the fuel cap was still on and the fuel gauge was showing a full tank.
"There might have been a little fuel from the fuel line that escaped into the river, and we're using booms to mop that up," he said. "We do know that's a very very small amount that would have been spilled."
Brunette River is an important waterway for salmon returning to spawn, and many of the city's creeks and streams are connected to the Brunette. Salmon return to Burnaby via the Fraser River, then swim up the Brunette before heading to some of the smaller creeks and streams.
Johnson said Kiewet-Flatiron's first priority is to respond to any environmental risks and the company will make sure the area is cleaned.
