An oil field drilling rig owned by Mokat Drilling from Caney, KS overturned on Wilson County 2000 road about 1 mile west of Roper Tuesday morning, just after 10 am.

The accident apparently happened when the 60,000 lb vehicle drove onto the shoulder, which then collapsed, causing the vehicle to land on its side in the north ditch.

According to Wilson County Sheriff Deputy Mark Jones, the driver was thrown through the windshield. EMS first took him to Fredonia Regional Hospital; he was then taken to Independence and life-flighted to Wichita.

Over 30 responders were involved in the incident, including Buffalo Fire Chief Ed Splecter who served as Incident Commander for the event, assisted by Neodesha Fire Department Chief Duane Banzet, who was in charge of operations. Wilson County Emergency Manager Rick Brown also provided logistical support.

The overturned vehicle leaked an estimated 100 gallons of diesel fuel and an unknown quantity of hydraulic fluid, which ran into an adjacent creek. Neodesha Fire Department first responders were able to stop the spread of the diesel within approximately 100 yards by using a “boom” and other specialized absorbents designed to absorb petroleum products, but not water.

Since the amount of the spill exceeded the available containment supplies, Southeast Kansas Regional Haz Mat teams from Coffeyville and Parsons/Labette County were also called to the scene, along with Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Environmental Remediation Program associate Renee Brown. Workers remained on the scene for over eight hours working on the containment and clean up.

Clean up efforts were helped by the fact that the water in the creek was running well after recent rain, which helped keep the fuel from depositing on the shoreline. The red dye in the fuel also made it easier to see where the absorbent materials needed to be placed. Wilson County Sheriff Dan Bath provided two all- terrain vehicles to the clean up crew for easier equipment and supply access to the creek line. Systech Corp. supplied containment barrels to collect the used absorbent materials for safe disposal.

Because of the weight of the overturned rig and its location next a bridge with a low weight limit, heavy equipment normally used in this kind of recovery was not able to access the site. The rig was finally able to be pulled out of the ditch and turned upright using three large bulldozers operated by Johnson Dozers. After the rig was removed, additional absorbents were used to contain fuel and oil which had pooled beneath the vehicle.

KDHE representatives will monitor the final cleanup of the spill, which is expected to take less than a week.