Case Study: Keeping the Peace: Spill Capture at Niagara Falls

The Peace Bridge Authority of Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario completed re-construction of a Canadian truck processing yard at this busy international border crossing. The new construction called for a storm water management system to prevent environmental damage from commercial motor vehicle leaks and spills that frequently occur in such a high traffic area.

This area has a particularly fragile ecological system which include the famous Niagara Falls tourist and recreation area. Fortunately, the re-construction engineering plans specified two Stormceptor units.

On August 19, 1997, a tanker truck transiting the border was sent into Canada Customs for secondary inspection. The area for inspection is a congested holding lot in constant use. The truck suddenly developed a tank leak while in the lot. The leak was quickly cut off, but not before 400 gallons of palm oil spilled into the storm sewer system.

The two Stormceptor units trapped the oil and completely contained the spill, keeping it out of the eco-system. The storm water management system included sluice gates as a secondary containment, but the Stormceptor units fully handled the situation, and the sluice gates were not employed.

The construction superintended for the Peace Bridge Authority reported, "The spill was quickly cleaned up, including the maintenance of the two Stormceptor units (via vacuum truck). To say the least, we are pleased at the ease of clean up and quick return to normal operation, with no damage to the environment.