Source: Great American Environmental Division, May 2013
A municipal garbage company maintained a contract with a public entity for waste pickup and composting services. While in the midst of loading waste from a dumpster on a commercial property, a container with an unknown liquid was encountered resulting in a spill from the insured’s vehicle onto the pavement and into a storm drain. Even though the waste collection employee acted quickly to deploy a spill kit, the quantity of the material was too great and resulted in a release that impacts both the soil around the vehicle and the adjacent storm drain. Emergency response expenses to vacuum out the storm drain and excavate impacted soils reached $110,000.