Police respond to illegal gasoline dumping in Snoqualmie

Storm drains are now clean, after use of vacuum trucks.

A cleaning process with Vactor vacuum trucks was completed Monday, after five to 10 gallons of gasoline had been illegally dumped in a stormwater drain in the East Crest View Loop neighborhood of Snoqualmie Ridge.

The drains are now clear of gasoline, city officials said Sunday evening.

On Jan. 27, Snoqualmie Police and Fire responded to a report of a gas order in the 6500 block of East Crest View Loop neighborhood on Snoqualmie Ridge. Several homes were filling with an odor of gasoline. Authorities believe the dumping happened sometime around midnight.

Although the exact amount of gasoline disposed of remains unknown, two empty five-gallon gasoline containers were located during the investigation.

One suspect has been identified and gross misdemeanor criminal charges will be forwarded to the city of Snoqualmie prosecutor. Someone dumping waste is required to pay for the clean-up process and restitution, per Washington law and Snoqualmie municipal code.

The suspect was located because the gasoline is believed to have flowed into the storm drain adjacent to the suspect’s driveway, said Joan Pliego, communications manager for the city of Snoqualmie.

The Environmental Protection Agency was notified, but it will be at that agency’s discretion to respond.

City of Snoqualmie Parks & Public Works Department crews — using Vactor trucks — cleaned numerous catch basins within a two-block area of the gas disposal. The trucks are equipped with a pump and designed to pneumatically pump liquid from underground locations.

Crews also placed oil absorption tubes in the affected basins, making use of the city’s downhill oil filters.