ROSELAND — It’s been one month since Smitty’s Supply in Roseland exploded in a massive fire, causing hundreds of employees to lose their job and millions of gallons of oil and grease to wind up in the river. Cleanup efforts are still ongoing to date, the parish reports.
In addition to cleanup, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on hand to assist residents concerned about the environmental impact from the explosion.
According to Tangipahoa Parish officials, EPA is hosting two “office hours” events this week for residents to ask questions about the response process. These will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. until noon at Lee’s Landing and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ponchatoula Branch of the Tangipahoa Parish Library.
EPA will have representatives available to answer community concerns, share information on the site’s clean-up progress, and distribute contact information for other agencies and hotlines.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), along with the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), began sampling seafood from the Tangipahoa River and Lake Pontchartrain near the river’s mouth to evaluate potential contamination. The sampling started on Sept. 18, according to a press release.
The sampling will focus on the types of seafood eaten locally. Control samples of the same species will also be collected from Bayou Lacombe, an unaffected system, to ensure accuracy. Accredited laboratories, including Eurofins Laboratory, will analyze the samples for heavy metals and petroleum-related hydrocarbons, and the results will be used by LDH and partner agencies to assess any potential public health risks and determine if seafood consumption advisories are warranted.
On Friday, Sept. 19, the LDWF responded to UWK‘s request about local wildlife impacts from the incident and reported there have been no fish kills to date.
Latest clean-up and recovery numbers
As of the morning of Sept. 22nd, the Tangipahoa Parish government shared these most recent clean-up and recovery numbers:
- Nearly 5.3 million gallons of product (5,295,675) have been collected altogether
- Includes 3,246,474 gallons of oil and water, and 9,996 gallons of grease and water (same as previously reported) from the Smitty’s Supply site
- Estimated 175,791 gallons removed from the Tangipahoa River using skimmers and MARCO boats
- Pond D-1: 594,006 gallons
- Pond D-2: 558,474 gallons
- Pond D-3: 457,674 gallons
- Pond D-4: 87,360 gallons
- Pond C-2: 51,870 gallons
- Hwy 10 Bridge: 114,030 gallons
Nearly 2 million gallons have been shipped off site for disposal, the parish government reports. In addition, efforts to flush along the river are ongoing and work to move the frac tank farm is the first step to reopening Hwy. 51.
On Sept. 9, crews were scheduled to remove two to four vehicles from Smitty’s and have since removed more, with six vehicles scheduled to be towed between Sept. 12 and 13. In a previous notice, Smitty’s Supply said that it will contact employees when they are able to access their vehicles. More employee resources are available here.
On Sept. 1, a damaged tank over-pressurized, causing the roof of the tank to blowout. No one was hurt and no damage was reported as a result of that blowout.
The parish will continue to post updates on the recovery efforts on the Tangipahoa.org website. There’s a green banner at the top of the page with links to information on the Roseland incident response. The top link will take you to all TPG updates. The second link goes to the EPA’s Roseland incident website. The third link will go to the EPA hub site, where you can find test results and other information about the fire.
Previous Update
What was initially a 20-acre fire at Smitty’s Supply on Friday, according to Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller, is now 98% contained and federal agencies are working to clean up the aftermath.
“I have to reiterate the idea that we had an event like this, it had to only been divine intervention, that we don’t even have an injury,” Miller said.
Tangipahoa Parish officials have fully lifted the mandatory evacuation order for all areas surrounding the recent incident site in Roseland as of Tuesday afternoon. Residents may now safely return to their homes, however, there are road closures still in effect to allow emergency response crews to work on containment and recovery.
Previously, Tangipahoa Parish officials had reduced the evacuation zone area from a one-mile radius to only the roads closest to the Smitty’s Supply in Roseland on Monday. This decision came after consulting with federal, state, and local partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is now the lead agency on the scene of the plant explosion.
MORE | EPA takes over hazardous material cleanup after Roseland plant explosion
The remaining road closure areas include:
- US 51 from LA 1048 to just south of Smitty’s Supply
- LA 10 at the Tangipahoa River bridge
No thru-traffic is allowed in these areas. Residents can access their homes in these areas by showing proper identification, per Tangipahoa Parish officials.
The parish has also expanded the closure of the Tangipahoa River and any connecting navigable waterways from LA 10 to the mouth of Lake Ponchartrain as of Monday, Aug. 25, until further notice. This emergency closure is for all marine traffic, aside from booming and other emergency activities.
In a briefing on Monday afternoon, Gov. Jeff Landry and officials with the Tangipahoa Parish government, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), among others, spoke on the continued response to the explosive situation.
“It’s important to recognize that this is not just simply an environmental issue, but this disaster affects the lives of all of the great people who worked at that facility and lived in that region. Certainly, this is going to impact the town of Roseland,” said Landry.
MORE | Roseland plant explosion: Photos and videos from the scene
The governor praised the cooperative response from local, state, and federal agencies in working diligently and “doing an unbelievable job” that the whole nation watched.
“To think that we’ve been able to have this fire extinguished in 72 hours speaks volumes for everyone who responded, not only to governmental agencies, but the private contractors as well,” he added.
Since arriving on scene, the EPA has deployed over 1,900 feet of containment boom in the Tangipahoa River and 100 feet of boom in the nearby drainage ditches. EPA is working to contain any remaining on-site hazardous materials and recover unburned material from the facility that ended up in ditches, ponds and the river. Those recovered materials will be transported and disposed of at an EPA-approved facility.
“EPA is also aware of materials that have flown into open waterways, and we are actively performing containment operations to reduce and remove recoverable amounts of material,” said Scott Mason, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s South Central Region.
An earthen berm is also going up around the site to help with containment of materials going out into the environment, particularly during any rainfall.
So far, there have been 100,000 gallons of recovered materials and 10,000 gallons of recovered foam by the agency.
The EPA and LDEQ have also been continuously taking air samples, along with soil and water samples, from around the area. Gov. Landry and the agency spokespeople stressed that some samples require longer periods to produce results, asking the public to be patient as those results come in.
Although residents may be able to see dust particles in the air still, testing is still ongoing and has been positive.
“At this time, the air monitoring data from our monitors is showing results that are below actionable levels, and we will continue to monitor air quality in the impacted area,” said Courtney Burdette, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
Continuous monitoring sample results can be accessed on the LDEQ’s website. In addition to the continuous monitoring, the LDEQ is taking “grab samples,” she said.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office and ATF are investigating the cause of the fire.
Evacuations for the explosion
“It’s also amazing to think that, starting on Friday, there were 850 people who had to be evacuated, and today there are only seven homes that can’t be accessed,” Landry said.
Although the overall evacuation zone has now been reduced, the following road closures are still in effect as of Monday evening:
- LA Hwy 10 – From U.S. Hwy 51 to E. Russell Town Road
- US Hwy 51 – From LA Hwy 1048 to North Street
- LA Hwy 1048 – From a U.S. Hwy 51 to Mt. Gillion Church Road
Alternate routes for Commercial Motor Vehicles:
- LA Hwy 10 West to LA Hwy 1058 North
- LA Hwy 10 East to US Hwy 51 South (Purina Mill)
The public is urged to continue exercising caution in the area due to the ongoing presence of first responders and cleanup crews, per Tangipahoa Parish Government.
In addition, as of Monday morning, there is still a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place for three nautical miles around the site. Updates and more information about this TFR can be found here.
On Sunday, the fire at the Smitty’s Supply Inc. site was 90% contained, according to Louisiana State Police. Response crews began removing structural debris and addressing covered hotspots on Sunday and set a containment berm around the site. Recovery operations continued through the day.
According to Louisiana State Police, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now serving as the lead agency on-scene as environmental response and firefighting efforts continue. EPA is mobilizing Emergency Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractors to coordinate these efforts and continue the ongoing operations. Smitty’s was previously coordinating these efforts.
Incident Response Phone Numbers:
To report a chemical, oil spill or environmental issue: 1 (800) 424-8802
To report a fish kill: 1 (800) 442-2511
To report wildlife impacts: (225) 765-2800
Smitty’s Claims Hotline (for employees): 1 (877) 891-2276
Previous update
As of late Sunday, Tangipahoa Parish officials say the fire at Smitty’s Supply in Roseland was still burning, and the one-mile evacuation order was still in effect due to debris concerns. Officials said Saturday morning they still cannot confirm exactly which product is burning inside the facility.
“Overnight, there were a number of small explosions that were reported around the incident area,” officials said. “These are consistent with what has been occurring since the start of this incident and do not present any new or heightened concerns at this time.”
The blaze began Friday afternoon with an explosion at the lubricants manufacturing facility near the intersection of Highway 51 and Highway 10. The heat has been so intense that it melted a fire truck, visible in photos from the scene.
MORE | Roseland plant explosion: Photos and videos from the scene
According to Parish President Robby Miller, the first emergency call came in at 12:53 p.m. Friday. By 1:15 p.m., officials ordered an evacuation of the immediate area. Twenty minutes later, the order was expanded to a one-mile radius.
Crews from multiple agencies and parishes have been on site fighting the fire for nearly 24 hours. Highway 51 at Highway 10 remains closed, and drivers are urged to take alternate routes. Officials continue to ask residents to stay away from the area until further notice.
The EPA has deployed an aircraft to conduct additional air monitoring, with results still under review. State Police say preliminary data is helping guide decisions among incident command. In addition, water samples are being taken from the Tangipahoa River and nearby waterways.
Residents are being warned about soot from burning materials such as plastics and vehicle debris. State Police advise people in affected areas to stay indoors, limit time outside, wash hands frequently, and avoid touching their face to reduce the risk of inhaling or ingesting particles.
UWK has learned that multiple departments remain at the scene, and the primary concern is the active fire and risk of additional explosions.
Tangipahoa Fire District #1 posted on social media: “We are working a conflagration event at Smitty’s Supply in Roseland. This is a dangerous situation.”
“The best news we have is that as of right now, there have been no injuries in this event, which is a godsend,” Miller said.
The scene is still active and crews are continuing to fight the fire nearly 24 hours after the initial call.
“We are doing our best to protect people, structures, and the environment,” the parish president added. “All of those agencies are pulling together to do that. The information we get, as we get it, we will make sure the citizens of the area know what’s going on.”
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