Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
McCoy terminal cleans up 20,000 bushel spill
OAKESDALE — A McCoy metal grain tank on State Route (SR) 271 spilled early in the morning last Friday, March 8, spreading grain across the roadway, causing a traffic hazard with no injuries to motorists or drivers.
Whitman County Deputy Tim Cox reports that he was advised at approximately 8:10 a.m. of a traffic hazard at the McCoy Grain Elevators with further information stating that a grain tank had “crumpled over, was leaning on another grain tank, and was leaking grain out onto the highway.”
“I responded, and upon my arrival, several PNW employees were already on the scene,” said Deputy Cox in an incident report.
PNW reports that the bin was roughly fifty years old before its collapse. PNW plans to demolish the collapsed grain tank before rebuilding it with more safety measures in place.
“Unfortunately, it was a 35,000 (bushel) bin that had structural failure,” said PNW’s CEO, Shawn O’Connell, of Genesee. “Approximately 20,000 bushels were leaked onto the ground, so we are cleaning up the grain.”
Since Friday, the site has been secured as crews begin to retrieve the spilled grain and the grain still inside the tank.
“Unfortunately, accidents like this happen occasionally,” said O’Connell. Metal does get fatigued and flex when being used or emptied. At least nobody was hurt.”
O’Connell reports that the Washington Department of Transportation (DOT) assisted in cleaning up the spill from the time it was notified, which took roughly three to four hours.
“We had equipment moving grain and placed barriers to block the road,” said O’Connell.
As PNW works to clean up the site, O’Connell asks the public to stay away from the secured site as it is unsafe for pedestrians.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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