Photo courtesy of City of Murfreesboro
A Murfreesboro man was arrested Tuesday for intentionally spilling 20,000 gallons of oil from Volunteer Oil Services on Cannon Avenue, according to a City of Murfreesboro press release.
At approximately 2:10 a.m. Tuesday, Ladder 1, Rescue 9 and Battalion Chief Daryl Alexander and Battalion Chief Joe Bell of the Murfreesboro Fire-Rescue Department responded to the spill. Upon arrival, the responders noticed that a Murfreesboro Police officer had responded to the spill and noticed open valves on a 6,500-gallon tanker truck and above ground storage tanks.
Murfreesboro Fire-Rescue placed absorbent booms, temporary barriers used to contain oil, to quell the spill, and the MPD officer shut off the valves. Additionally, Volunteer Oil contacted Premier Protective Services Inc. to respond to the spill with cleanup equipment.
According to the press release, 20,000 gallons of used motor oil and wastewater was intentionally spilled from containers at Volunteer Oil Services, but a large amount of the spill was contained. Around 10,000 gallons of the spilled liquids emptied into an existing containment berm used to contain a breach of the containers, and another 10,000 gallons emptied into an old railway spur line of ground area that empties into Lytle Creek.
Booms were added to nearby local waterways as a precaution. The release states that the area downstream from the spill will be monitored.
During the investigation, a man was determined to be a suspect. The man, identified as Dustin Keener, 29, returned to the scene of the spill and was taken into custody. Keener then confessed to the spill. Keener has been charged by MPD with Vandalism $60,000-$250,000 and is being held at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department with a $500,000 bond. There is a General Sessions Court date for Keener set on January 24, 2019.
The investigation is ongoing and more charges are pending.
