HERMANN — A recent crash that involved a driver who fled the scene after his truck left Highway 100 and struck Gasconade County Road Department equipment parked at at the MFA distribution site had Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, in an unusual position: Managing the response of a fuel spill and the removal and replacement of the tainted soil.

And then there’s the follow-up work by Holland of making sure county taxpayers’ dollars spent on the response are recouped.

According to a detailed accounting of the incident by Holland, On Friday, March 25, he was notified about the incident at 6:30 in the morning, apparently the time MFA personnel discovered the crash that involved a pickup truck leaving the highway, crossing the ditch and striking a county brush cutter attached to a fuel tanker that had been parked overnight at the MFA site. 

The crash resulted in the fuel trailer flipping up and spilling about 125 gallons of diesel.

Four Road Department employees were dispatched to the site and placed absorption mats and other collection pieces to contain the spill.

Holland reported the spill to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and discussed a plan for the cleanup of the site. The associate commissioner also spoke with MFA representatives about the incident.

Holland said the contaminated soil was removed and trucked to the county property at Swiss, where it was unloaded onto thick plastic sheeting, as DNR instructed, and where it would be regularly tilled to allow the fuel to dry. Back at the MFA site, the spill area was backfilled with clean dirt and covered by new rock.

After informing Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, and Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, of the incident, Holland took photos of the spill site and surrounding area and of the county equipment. A backhoe was used to bend one of the brush cutter’s wheel rims back into place so the tire could be aired up.

After that, the Northern District commissioner went to Harvey’s Body Shop and took photos of the pickup truck that was involved in the incident. The driver of the truck, Terry Schnarr of Warren county, contacted Holland about 11 a.m. Holland said he met with Schnarr about 1 p.m. and received insurance information.

A claim has been filed with Schnarr’s insurance carrier for $7,500. There are several substantial costs involved in responding to the incident: $800 for use of the backhoe; $600 for the dump truck; $800 worth of labor; $600 worth of rock placed at the site; $1,250 for a new tire rim for the brush cutter; and $2,000 to keep the contaminated soil turned until the fuel dries out.

During a recent Commission session, Miskel and Lairmore applauded Holland for his efforts at managing the response to the incident and his detailed written report on the matter.