FAYETTEVILLE — Problems at The Vue apartment complex continued Thursday after a fuel tank fell off a forklift, spilling hundreds of gallons of diesel.
Mauro Campos, fire battalion chief, said his department arrived at the spill around 8:15 a.m.
Officials from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, state Department of Emergency Management and Arkansas & Missouri Railroad assisted with the accident.
“We have several agencies involved because it’s a hazmat incident,” Campos said.
Katherine Benenati, public outreach and assistance chief for the Environmental Quality Department, estimated 100-200 gallons spilled from a 500-gallon tank.
Emergency crews initially estimated the spill between 500 and 700 gallons.
Benenati said the fuel didn’t reach the Town Branch creek, a tributary of the White River.
“The Fire Department and the Office of Emergency Management used absorbent pads and booms,” she said “They also erected a dike to make sure it didn’t spread to the Town Branch creek.”
At A Glance
The Vue
The Vue is a joint venture involving five companies. The Michaels Organization controls part of the project through a subsidiary called University Student Living, both of which are based in New Jersey. The Michaels companies specialize in multifamily housing. The other partner in the Vue is ParkGreen Living, a Houston-based development conglomerate that includes Parkcrest Builders, the general contractor on the 656-bedroom project. Marketing and leasing for The Vue is handled by Campus Apartments, a Philadelphia-based property management group specializing in student housing. Development documents filed with the city list the project as jointly owned by University Student Living and Parkcrest Builders.
Source: Staff Report
Workers were moving the tank when it fell from a forklift, hit the ground and a valve ripped off, Campos said.
Campos said there were no injuries and no evacuation.
Campos said the fuel drained down a hill toward Arkansas & Missouri Railroad tracks.
Ron Sparks, railroad police chief, was at the spill and said, “It went toward the railroad, but never reached it.”
Sparks said trains slowed while emergency workers cleaned up the fuel.
Benenati said she didn’t know how long the cleanup would take, but crews would remain for “as long as it takes.”
“We have an inspector on site to oversee the cleanup,” she said. “Whenever something like this comes up we work with local authorities and the responsible party.”
Benenati said she didn’t know the name of the responsible party Thursday, but would have more information today.
She said FCC Environmental, a Little Rock-based company, has been hired to clean up the fuel. A message left for the company’s branch manager in Fort Smith wasn’t returned Thursday afternoon.
The Vue, which has been under construction for nearly a year, has been the scene of two deaths in the past two months. A Joplin, Mo., man was electrocuted June 9 when his boom lift hit a power line. A Springdale man was killed in May when a dirt pit collapsed on him.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating both incidents.
Several residents in a smaller apartment complex downhill from The Vue were displaced by flooding in March. Developers upgraded the water and sewer lines leading to the 19-acre site.
David Jurgens, city utilities director, said in March a cap was missing from the sewer line, causing it to overflow.
Kit Williams, city attorney, said Thursday the city has no jurisdiction to revoke the building permit for the complex in regards to work-related injuries or other environmental accidents.
He said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for investigating work-related injuries and other state and federal agencies handle environmental issues.
“We just approved a building permit for a large scale development, which means they must conform with our development rules,” Williams said. “I haven’t researched this, but I think it’s beyond the city’s jurisdiction to look at the problems that complex has had.”