(KGTV) - A Carlsbad-based company has agreed to pay about $59,000 in a settlement stemming from a 2016 oil spill on Interstate 8.
SoCo Group, Inc., a petroleum marketing and distribution company, agreed to pay the civil penalty to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the agency announced Wednesday.
At about 6 p.m. on May 13, 2016, a SoCo tanker truck was allegedly traveling at an unsafe speed and overturned on the off-ramp of westbound I-8 to Morena Boulevard, near Mission Bay.
About 3,700 gallons of diesel fuel from the tanker spilled onto the roadway and into the San Diego River nearby, according to the EPA.
DETAILS FROM 2016: Tanker overturns near I-8, spills fuel onto road
The EPA said about 3,000 gallons were recovered within 72 hours of the spill, with about 960 cubic yards of contaminated vegetation and soil removed and disposed of. It took about four months for the cleanup to be completed.
Officials said at the time of the crash that they believe some of the spilled fuel would make its way into the Pacific Ocean eventually.
Read the settlement document here.
In addition to the EPA, the San Diego County Environmental Health’s Hazardous Materials Division, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, San Diego Public Works, San Diego Police, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were all involved with cleanup efforts.
