Sanborn Oil Spill
Cura Emergency Services, Inc.
Waldo, ME
A 2001 highway accident involving a tank truck resulted in an spill of No. 6 oil entering Sanborn Pond, in rural Waldo
County, Maine. Following the clean-up, Kleinschmidt was contracted to assess the effect of the spill on aquatic
resources of the 98-acre water body. The scope of the field investigation was defined by the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) following review of the accident and related site information.
DEP directed Kleinschmidt to investigate potential effects of the accident on rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) populations. Rainbow smelt were investigated during the late winter and early spring following ice-out. Winter smelt sampling entailed deploying an innovative smelt trap net through 14 inches of ice; the spring survey involved monitoring spawning habitat to determine the extent of natural reproduction. Largemouth bass reproduction and growth was assessed through boat electrofishing, age and growth analysis, and young-of-year abundance indexing.
Kleinschmidt worked closely with DEP and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to conduct both the field work and also subsequent data analysis and reporting. DEP also called upon Kleinschmidt to present findings at subsequent public hearings. DEP determined that Kleinschmidt’s data was sufficiently conclusive to abbreviate the originally-contemplated two-year survey period, thus saving all parties time and money.