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PROVO - A semitruck carrying two tankers filled with crude oil crashed in Provo Canyon Saturday morning, spilling potentially large quantities of crude oil into the Provo River, police said.

Around 10 a.m. Saturday, a semitruck hauling crude oil in two tankers was traveling westbound near mile post 13 in Provo Canyon when it hit a patch of slush while attempting to change lanes, according to Utah Highway Patrol. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which then veered left and crashed into the median barrier, police said. Both the truck and the tankers rolled over upon impact.

As a result of the crash, the front tanker of the truck ruptured, according to police. Approximately 4,500 gallons of crude oil were spilled out of the tanker, police said, and an unknown amount made it into the Provo River. The rear tank was not breached, and crews are working on a solution to extract the crude oil inside this second tanker, police said.

Crews were on scene working to clean up the spill and the remaining damage from the crash, according to police. As of early Saturday afternoon, Provo Canyon was closed in both directions.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

link: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=37547231&nid=148...d=topstory
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It looks like the crash occurred just above the Olmstead diversion, if I'm looking at the picture correctly.

Here is another link.

http://kutv.com/news/local/crash-closes-...ovo-canyon
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Anyone hear anything further on this? Can't imagine the browns downstream will like this, not to mention the effect on Utah Lake. Last I checked was Saturday evening, and at the time they had confirmed at least 1000 gallons of oil had reached the river.
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[quote BHuij]Anyone hear anything further on this? Can't imagine the browns downstream will like this, not to mention the effect on Utah Lake. Last I checked was Saturday evening, and at the time they had confirmed at least 1000 gallons of oil had reached the river.[/quote]


I haven't heard anything further officially, and was too busy at work today to run up and take a look. However, I was talking with my wife about this (who used to work as an engineer for a firm specializing in petroleum cleanup/remediation) and she thinks it won't be too bad environmentally. The cold water and air temps will turn spilled crude oil to gelatinous globs that are easier to clean, and the area of the spill, near the Olmstead diversion dam, allows for easy installation of collection booms and the marshy area nearby is a positive also as far as cleanup.

It would have been far worse if it was refined product or if it happened when the temperatures were warmer.
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