Contractor Overfilled A Storage Tank, Leading To The Spill

A contractor filling a fuel storage tank for Atlantic Aviation, an FBO located on Aspen airport, spilled more than 1,300 gallons of jet fuel on the ground because he failed to check the fuel level in the tank before beginning filling it.

The Aspen Times reports that Johnathan Jones, the general manager at Atlantic Aviation, said that his best guess as to how much fuel was spilled was about 1,325 gallons.

Aspen fire chief Rick Balentine said that it appeared that the contractor did not notice when the tank got full, and the fuel spilled from an overflow vent onto rocks and soil, then eventually asphalt. But he also said he was not aware that the spill had occurred until someone asked him about it. Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo and Pitkin County public health director Karen Koenemann also said their agencies were not alerted to the situation.

According to the report, state law requires such incidents involving more than 25 gallons be reported to the state oil inspector within 24 hours. The Colorado Department of Public Health said through a spokesperson that the Aspen airport spill had been reported.

The initial estimate of the spill was 200 gallons. Jones said that may have been the amount of fuel that got out of the containment area and onto a road. That fuel was cleaned up by an emergency hazmat crew from Grand Junction, he said. The rest of the fuel was captured by the containment field at the tank farm, and would be mitigated by a non-emergency hazmat crew. "All appropriate authorities were immediately notified of the incident," Jones said in a written statement. "Atlantic Aviation employees took immediate action to contain the spill and engaged a professional hazmat spill response team on Friday to ensure the area is properly contained and mitigated."

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report