On 7/27/05 12:15 AM, "Chris Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote: >> This evening on the 6:00 news, they reported an Asphalt Oil Spill in the >> Minnehaha Creek. Of >> course, we had to go down and investigate!! >> >> It covers a wide area down below the Longfellow Gardens in the section to the >> right of the orange >> fencing. Supposedly this happened on Sunday but it was just reported. If this >> goes over the weir, >> it will make it's way to the Falls. >> >> There's a lot of geese, ducks with babies, heron and fish in this >> area....what department cleans this up? >> It would be under the Minnehaha Watershed District. Who would not have >> reported it right away? >> >> Dorie Gallagher/Nokomis >> > > Yikes! That's horrible. > > Seems like it might be the responsibility of a several agencies. Top on my > best-guess list would be the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. > > The Minnehaha Creek Watershed Management District > (http://www.minnehahacreek.org/) might have some resources to help with it, > also, but their budget is very small. Lastly, perhaps the state DNR or PCA > might have some involvement. > > I too wonder why it wasn't reported sooner. In a case like this where the source of a hazardous materials spill was a business, the correct response is to first call 911 and then call the State Duty Officer for the Department of Public Safety. http://www.epcra.state.mn.us/duty_officer/index.asp Businesses that use hazardous materials in their operations are supposed to train their employees who will work with these materials to know this protocol. In my experience as someone who has both received and performed this training, it usually occurs shortly after the hiring date and there is an annual refresher. It would appear in this case that the employees of this business were not trained or the training was not performed well. A simple reference that employers can (and should) make available by posting in the work place and providing copies in trucks or whatever is used to transport these materials is the State Duty Officer placard, which can be downloaded at http://www.epcra.state.mn.us/duty_officer/DOPlacard.pdf It contains step-by-step instructions on what should be done in the event of a hazardous materials spill. I hope anyone reading this whose employer uses hazardous materials will check and make sure their employer has this information. We were very fortunate that the spill occurring over the weekend was not a lot worse... Also, for anyone who simply happens to witness a spill or other hazardous materials release, please call 911 to report it. That's usually enough to at least get a response action underway as Scott Vreeland described. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
