The river clean-up continues on a North Bank Rd property when a semi trailer rolled, down an embankment, across a paddock, through a boundary fence and into the water. The truck was unmanned and it’s believed at this stage the brakes failed on the vehicle.
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The majority of truck and trailer is submerged in approximately 20 feet of water.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) released the following statement: "The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is assisting with a clean-up operation after a truck and trailer carrying a load of fertiliser rolled into the Bellinger River between Bellingen and Raleigh earlier today.
"Officers from the NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Police, Bellingen Council and the EPA are currently onsite working to clean-up and manage the impacts of the split material on the local environment.
"The truck and trailer is believed to be have been carrying 27 tonnes of single superphosphate fertiliser which is a nutrient dense, acidic material that will dissolve slowly if it comes into contact with water.
"A crane is being used to safely remove 10 of the one tonne bags of fertiliser from the trailer in the river, before removing the truck which is carrying the bulk of the fertiliser. The fertiliser in the bulk container was covered with a tarpaulin at the time of the incident.
"As the clean-up continues the EPA is focussed on minimising the release of any more fertiliser into the water and ensuring there are no further impacts to the water quality during the clean-up and recovery process.
"The EPA will be taking samples of the water for testing and residents should avoid swimming in the water."
Any local residents who become aware of pollution in the local area is encouraged to contact the EPA’s 24hour Environment Line on 131 555 immediately to make an official report.
