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Mr. Gerald Djuth <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br /> The accident did not occur at the intersection of McKinley and Industrial but rather about <br /> 400 feet north of the intersection where McKinley diagonally crosses three tracks. The <br /> point of collision was on the southeast side of the crossing. The precise location can be <br /> identified as the fifth and sixth ties south of a "V" mark painted on the easternmost <br /> outboard rail. This mark is visible in the EHD photos. For future reference, the V mark <br /> is perpendicular to a pole that was apparently damaged in the collision. The pole marks <br /> the location of a Kinder Morgan underground petroleum pipeline. <br /> The outboard portion of the spill area is now covered by a stockpile of railroad ballast <br /> rock ranging from about two to four feet in height. However, the original ballast is <br /> exposed near the tracks and shows no visible or olfactory evidence of diesel. In the <br /> attached photos taken on February 24, the stockpiled ballast is darker in color than the <br /> original; however this is not due to staining. The immediate area near the spill and a <br /> UPRR shack is graded flat and retains stormwater. The attached photos show puddles <br /> adjacent to the spill area which evidenced no impact by hydrocarbons (no sheen or odor). <br /> South of the UPRR shack, the topography falls about five feet to a small slough <br /> approximately 120 feet south of the spill location. Flow in the slough is toward the south. <br /> There was no visible evidence of diesel impact in the rainwater puddles between the spill <br /> site and the slough, or along or within the slough. Near the slough is a marker for a <br /> Quest Communications fiber optic line. <br /> h1 my opinion, the spill does not threaten or potentially threaten beneficial uses of <br /> groundwater or surface water; no further action is needed to protect human health or the <br /> environment. <br /> • A significant barrier of low permeability clay and silt is present between the <br /> surface spill and groundwater. Based on our investigation of the Wilbur Ellis <br /> facility 500 feet to the southeast, the soil type from the ground surface to a depth <br /> of 20 feet or more consists of low permeability clay and silt. Groundwater occurs <br /> at an average depth of approximately 30 feet and flows toward the northeast. No <br /> significant hydraulic connection between the nearby slough and groundwater <br /> appears to exist. <br /> • Such a small diesel release as this would not be expected to infiltrate or leach to <br /> groundwater at detectable concentrations due to the low mobility of the <br /> hydrocarbon and the high attenuation potential of the soil column. <br /> • The inspection did not discover any visible or olfactory evidence of the spill, <br /> either on the railroad ballast rock or in the adjacent rainwater puddles. Much of <br /> the original spill was probably removed with the applied absorbent. The residual <br /> diesel has likely undergone biodegradation during the two years since the <br /> occurrence. <br /> • Diesel fuel which might have penetrated the ballast would have become <br /> immobilized in the underlying clay and silt by sorption where it would be subject <br /> to degradation. <br /> • It does not appear that rainwater runs off toward the slough except possibly <br /> during major storni events. <br /> G:\GROUNDZE\ANDRADE\I_cticrtoR WQCB031909.doc <br />