The trucking company responsible for a 2008 tanker spill near the shore of Flathead Lake that cost more than $1 million to clean up will pay a $83,500 fine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

Billings-based Keller Transportation owned the tractor-trailer that on April 2, 2008, ran off the road and overturned, spilling 6,300 gallons of gasoline into springs along Flathead Lake, impacting groundwater as well as Flathead Lake near Finley Point in Lake County, within the boundary of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

The accident was caused by excessive speed around a curve on Montana 35, which prompted the tanker trailer to strike a rock embankment and rupture, according to the EPA.

Fumes from the spill forced the evacuation of five homes along the lake for nearly a year.

In the wake of that spill and three other truck accidents on Montana 35 through October 2009, public meetings were held to discuss safety issues regarding large trucks on both Montana 35 and U.S. 93.

Jim Lynch, then director of the Montana Department of Transportation, told people attending one of the meetings in Polson that Montana 35 wouldn’t be closed to trucking, but he promised a renewed emphasis on making the roads safer.

In February 2010 the state started a highway watch program for highways on both sides of Flathead Lake. Signs were posted encouraging motorists to report unsafe driving of any kind to a toll-free number.

 Keller agreed to pay the fine to settle Clean Water Act claims and violations of the Oil Pollution Act that prohibits the discharge of oil into U.S. waters. Its liability insurance coverage paid out the maximum $1 million to clean up the spill, and a second insurance company covered additional costs.

“This penalty serves as a strong reminder that every effort must be taken to avoid accidents and spills when hauling hazardous materials,” EPA Enforcement Director Mike Gaydosh said in a press release.

The federal agency, in coordination with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has been working with Keller on the cleanup since the crash.

The EPA issued an administrative order to Keller for the remediation activities that included installation of air abatement systems in the affected homes, ongoing air monitoring, removal and appropriate disposal of contaminated soil and installation of a groundwater collection trench and permanent water treatment system to treat the contaminated groundwater.

 Annual air monitoring has indicated that the abatement systems are working properly, Gaydosh said. There have been no identified indoor air violations in the affected homes in the past three years. Groundwater sampling shows that the area of contamination is decreasing, but there still are high levels of contamination in the main spill pathway.

Keller will continue to operate the water treatment system under the requirements of EPA’s administrative order until the agency determines the clean-up is complete.

The trucking industry has resisted any state effort to limit truck access to the highway. Even though Montana 35 has a lower speed limit than U.S. 93, truckers sometimes prefer that route between the Flathead Valley and Missoula because Montana 35 is flatter and quicker and burns less fuel.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.