LYON COUNTY, Iowa- BNSF Railroad officials and Iowa Department of Natural Resources staff are on scene in rural Lyon County, after more than two dozen rail tank cars, slipped off the tracks early this morning, south of Doon, Iowa.
Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep tells WHO Radio News it happened around 4:30 this (Friday) morning, and has resulted in an unknown quantity of crude oil being released into flood waters, near the tracks. He says the oil is making its way into the Little Rock River. He says there were no injuries, and deputies evacuated several nearby homes.
Officials on the scene aren't sure whether floodwater from the swollen Little Rock River caused the cars to leave the tracks.
Our Newspartner KFAB reports the Metropolitan Utilities District in Omaha is closely monitoring the oil spill, 153 miles to the north. In a statement released this afternoon officials said "M.U.D. will continue to monitor the situation, and if necessary, will shift water pumping away from the Florence Water Treatment Plant along the Missouri River to the District’s two other water treatment facilities, Platte South and Platte West, which are supplied by the Platte River. Water quality and safety are of the utmost importance to M.U.D. and its customers."