Cleanup continues 2 weeks after tanker rollover on QEW in Beamsville

It’s been two weeks since police say an aggressive driver caused a fuel tanker truck to rollover on the QEW in Beamsville.

Environmental crews are still cleaning up the mess, and will continue to do so for at least another month.

Hamilton’s First Response Environmental has been cleaning up after the Jan. 12 tanker truck spill off South Service Road and Tufford Road north in Beamsville.

The CEO of the company said they could not go on camera but told CHCH, the cleanup could take another month.

READ MORE: ‘Aggressive’ driver sought after fuel truck rollover closed QEW in Beamsville

Jason Roller a grape grower who has rented a six acres of land for the last six years and sells the grapes at local wineries.

“I think they’re taking it seriously. Niagara region Ministry of Environment, first response and we hope we can get it cleaned up and I think they’re doing a good job and working as quick as they can.”

But Roller wonders what will come of the land and the vines affected.

“What is the short term or long term damage of the vineyard, we don’t know if it will affect the grapes, if it won’t affect the grapes, and kind of what that looks like. We may not know for months or even a year until we actually [see] what kind of grapes are growing and we get a crop,” said Roller.

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Roller is still grows grapes on other parcels of land as well, but is watching the cleanup of this field carefully.

Roller says “they started skimming the first couple inches and then now they are in there with full size dump trucks and they are excavating everyday and cleaning up and replacing with like for like. So if they take top soil, they replacing topsoil, and trying to get it back to the same state it was in before the unfortunate accident.”

The Ministry of Environment did not respond to CHCH for a comment on the situation.