PORT ANGELES — Vandals who cut down a utility pole along the Olympic Discovery Trail are costing the City of Port Angeles thousands in environmental cleanup after three attached transformers spilled oil into the soil.
The February 2 incident at the former Rayonier Mill site appears to have been an attempt to steal copper wiring. When vandals cut down the pole, mineral oil from the transformers spilled on impact with the ground.
Workers used absorbents to clean the surface oil and covered the area with an industrial tarp to prevent runoff. The Department of Ecology was notified, and NRC Environmental Services, Inc. was brought in to handle the cleanup.
The firm will remove only the contaminated soil, based on prior site data, while continuously testing the area during excavation. The cleanup contract is expected to cost $55-thousand dollars. The city has $100-thouaand dollars budgeted for vandalism repairs. The city council will take up the contract at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The investigation is ongoing.