FWS Releases Final Restoration Plan for Tanker Truck Diesel Spill and Fire in Bill Williams River NWR in Arizona

Aerial view of Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge in August 2006 showing fire damage from the Texmo tanker truck diesel spill at the confluence of the Bill Williams River and Lake Havasu on the Lower Colorado River in Arizona. The spill occurred on the Arizona Route 95 bridge over the River. Photo credit: Arizona DOT.

On November 9, 2011 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released the “Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for Restoring Injuries to Wildlife and Fisheries Habitats from the Texmo Diesel Spill and Fire through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program at the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, Mohave and La Paz County, Arizona.” FWS is the only natural resource trustee involved in this case.

The Restoration Plan addresses natural resource injuries from a July 28, 2006 tanker truck accident on the Arizona Route 95 bridge over the Bill Williams River in western Arizona. The tanker truck, owned by Texmo Oil Company Jobbers, overturned and released an estimated 7,600 to 7,800 gallons of diesel fuel. The diesel fuel spilled off the bridge into Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge and caught fire. An estimated 348 acres of habitat in the Refuge burned, including riparian marsh, woodlands and upland desert.

The purpose of this Restoration Plan is to identify restoration project alternatives, evaluate the environmental impact of the alternatives and identify restoration projects to compensate the public for injured natural resources from the diesel spill and fire at the National Wildlife Refuge.

Further reading:

• Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment