Tugboat mishap spills fuel into lake

EAST HOPE — An estimated 80 gallons of diesel spilled into Lake Pend Oreille’s Ellisport Bay after a tugboat’s fuel tank was ruptured during a crane operation on Wednesday.

The extent of the spill at Kramer’s Marina was initially believed to be about 10 or 15 gallons, said Joe Farago, a public information officer with the Northside Fire District, which offered mutual aid during the incident.

“When they pumped out the diesel tank, apparently the evaluation came in that it was closer to 80 (gallons),” Farago said on Thursday.

The spill happened when a barge-mounted crane was hoisting a 32-foot tugboat called the Josephine out of the bay.

One report indicated the fuel tank was breached when the tug struck a piling during the lift operation, while another indicated the boat was intentionally dropped when the crane became unbalanced and was threatening to topple over.

Farago said he was not familiar with the latter report, which was attributed to Bonner County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Raiha, who said a 5-inch gash in the 400-gallon tank was caused when the tugboat was dropped on the barge’s deck to keep the crane upright.

East Pend Oreille Fire, Bonner County Emergency Management, the Sandpoint Fire Department and the state’s Panhandle region hazardous materials team responded to the incident, as did officials from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Farago said.

Additional containment booms and absorbent pads were put into place on Thursday.

Mark Kalbaugh, a DEQ site remediation manager, said the spill appears to be fully contained and Kramer officials were also assisting with the cleanup.

“It’s going to be a slow, arduous process,” Kalbaugh said.