Site Cleanup

Hazardous Materials Spills
Hazmat Spill Site Remed​iation (Clean Up)
Transportation Incdident​​​ Spills

H​azardous Materials Spills

The Environmental Protection Department Hazardous Materials personnel are on call 24/7 and respond to all 911 notified Hazardous Materials incidents in Alachua County to provide response and technical assistance to all local emergency response agencies, while coordinating proper containment and remediation of the site.

Our mission is to ensure that all appropriate site cleanup actions are taken to remediate the site to pre-incident conditions per County, State, and Federal regulations, thus protecting the soils, air, groundwater, and surface waters of Alachua County.

  • Hazardous Materials spill
  • Plane crash showing an oil spill
  • Firefighters cleaning up a spill
  • Oil drums with spilled oil on the ground

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Hazmat Spill Site Remediation (Cle​an Up)​

Multiple oil spill sites  
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EPD staff provide remediation oversight of the cleanup of contaminated sites within Alachua County, which are a result of a hazmat​ incident or fire at a business facility or result from vehicle crashes or from any other incident (fires, spills, accidents, illegal dumping) that results in a discharge / spill. EPD responds to an average of 100+ hazmat incidents each year.

Additionally, EPD staff coordinate with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – Office of Emergency Response (FDEP OER) for reportable quantity releases and for facilities under Federal and/or State supervision such as the Cabot / Koppers Superfund site and facilities in the Dry Cleaner Cleanup Program.

Information on petroleum contaminated sites in Alachua County, can be found at the Petroleum Cleanup Program webpage.

Transportation Incdident​​​ Spills​

Fuel Spills  
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The most common Hazardous Material spilled in Alachua County is gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, home heating oil, and jet fuel. By far, the most spilled fuel is diesel fuel.

Most commercial vehicles traveling through Alachua County are powered by diesel engines. The fuel for these trucks is contained in saddle tanks that are located on the cab of a truck, just below each of the doors. Their capacity can range from 100 to 200 gallons, allowing a total conveyance of up to 500 gallons of fuel. The placement of these tanks puts them in an extremely vulnerable position, subject to damage and punctures from road debris, vehicle accidents, and numerous other hazards, which result in discharges to the environment.

The most common type of hazardous materials incidents in Alachua County results from motor vehicle accidents, where a fuel tank is damaged and releases fuel. Hydraulic oil can also be spilled during an accident or when a hydraulic line fails on a truck or piece of heavy equipment. Upon arriving at the scene of a spill, Environmental Protection and Fire / Rescue work diligently to prevent any materials from entering into a storm drain system, waterway or the soil and subsequently any of the County’s waterways or ground water.

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