Columbia River Oil Spill Sparks Urgent Clean-Up at Priest Rapids

Attention boaters and those who enjoy fishing the Columbia River near Priest Rapids Dam, you're advised to steer clear of this part of the river.

According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, an estimated 240 gallons of mineral oil was spilled into the Columbia River during maintenance on the dam. The spill occurred Wednesday, December 3rd, at about 1 pm.

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Currently, crews from Grant PUD and GrayMar Environmental are working to clean up a mineral-oil spill, from a turbine generator unit. According to a release from Grant PUD:

"While these kinds of spills are rare, we do take them very seriously," said Jeff Grizzel, Grant PUD's Senior Vice President of Power and Marketing Operations. "We have a spill response plan that includes regular training. We are now following that plan and using that training to work as quickly as possible to safely remove oil from the river."

WA Department of Ecology Advises NO Entry of the River Between the Dam and Pasco.

For the next few days, please do not enter the river between Priest Rapids Dam and Pasco as we assess the situation and place boom to contain the oil.

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The Vernita Bridge boat launch is also inaccessible at this time. Anyone who sees oiled wildlife is asked to call the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife at 800-222-4737.