The Starke County Commissioners discussed an oil spill that occurred last summer at the highway garage during their meeting last week.
During public comment, Roberta Lee stated she had seen pictures from July of 2023 showing a large oil spill at the highway garage. She wanted to know if the cleanup had been followed up on and what the total cost of the cleanup was. She stated she would like to see the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) report on the spill.
In a follow up, Starke County Highway Superintendent Rachel Oesterreich told WKVI News it was her understanding the oil spill happened in June of 2023. When Oesterreich was appointed as the Interim Highway Superintendent in November of 2023, she stated she had noticed dry patches that looked like remnants of an oil spill. She went on to say she had dispatched Starke County EMA Director Tori Chessor to look into the area. Oesterreich said Chessor then called IDEM to the location. It was noted the clean up had not been done in June when the spill had happened and IDEM showed the highway department how to properly dispose the old remnants of the oil spill and also how to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
Oesterreich stated there was no clean up cost as what was left from the spill in June had dried up by December when they began clean up efforts. She added the department used their equipment to move the dry contaminated materials. She said the department did spend money on booms and pads as a preventative measure in December of 2023.
