An Iowa Trucking company
could be fined more than $600,000 for a Nov. 11 tanker accident
near Idaho Springs, CO, that spilled 8,000 gallons of fuel into
a creek, killing more than 17,000 trout. Under Colorado law, the
company can be fined $35 per fish.
Joseph Neilson, a driver
for Webster, IA-based Iowa Tanklines, was cited for careless driving
in the accident. The spill was one of three major crashes in Colorado
involving the trucking company over a two-month span.
An Iowa Tanklines tanker
erupted in a fireball after crashing on Interstate 70 near Glenwood
Springs on Dec. 7, killing the driver. Another tanker overturned
on Loveland Pass on Oct. 31, spilling a small amount of fuel.
The latest spill reportedly
killed 95 percent of the trout in a 4.2-mile stretch of Clear Creek
between Dumont and the western edge of Idaho Springs. About a third
of the fish in the stretch that runs through the city were also
killed.
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