Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
etna green - A minor fertilizer spill in a farm field caused virtually no environmental damage Thursday, a state official said today.
Quick response and circumstances lessened any chance of damage, said Jason Sewell, an emergency responder for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
The spill occurred shortly before noon Thursday when a tank of nitrogen fertilizer slid off a farmer's tractor bed while being transported around a corner at the intersection of county roads 875W and 200N.
About 300 gallons of the fertilizer spilled into the corner of a farm field. Most of it flowed into a tile that crossed under the street and into a swampy bog that's part of Robinson Ditch.
The fertilizer moved about 30 paces into the swamp, and the near stagnant status of the swamp made it easy to contain the spill, Sewell said.
Sewell said he found no evidence of harm to animals in the area even though the fertilizer can be potentially hazardous to aquatic life.
The swamp was sandbagged by early Thursday afternoon and pumps were still being used today to remove the substance. Some of the watered down fertilizer was being spread through an irrigation system in the same field where it spilled.
In addition to the county HazMat team, those responding included the Etna Township Fire Department, the county health department and a conservation officer.
Sewell described local response to the incident as "very good."
