Clean-up crews rapidly dispatched following oil spill from Priest Rapids Dam
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Crews place protective booms on the Columbia River near Vernita Bridge 12/3/2025 and 12/4/2025
Priest Rapids Dam
UPDATE, 12/10/2025 --Grant PUD, the state Department of Ecology and Grant PUD’s cleanup contractor GrayMar Environmental have agreed that cleanup operations are substantially complete following the Dec. 3 spill of mineral oil into the Columbia River from Priest Rapids Dam.
GrayMar will continue patrols to look for oil sheen on the river surface. Absorbent booms remain in place in some areas. Next week crews will determine if they’re still necessary. Crews at the dam will continue their efforts to refine the total amount of oil spilled, which currently stands at 84 gallons.
Grant PUD expects to resume normal operation from the dam’s affected turbine/generator unit late this week or early next week.
Ecology has been the lead agency on the in-water clean-up. Their latest update was posted Dec. 8, when they declared cleanup was complete. Here’s the link, again, to check on any further updates from them. https://www.facebook.com/EcologyWA/posts/we-are-working-with-grant-pud-to-respond-to-a-spill-at-priest-rapids-dam-an-esti/1322618676576673/
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UPDATE 12/08/2025 — Clean-up efforts continue following the Dec. 3, 2025 spill of mineral oil lubricant from Priest Rapids Dam into the Columbia River. Monitoring and any cleanup needed within the river will continue today as Grant PUD works in coordination with its spill response contractor and the Department of Ecology to determine the appropriate time to begin demobilizing clean-up efforts.
Our crews at the dam also continue monitoring and clean-up efforts. The estimated total of 84 gallons that spilled into the river will likely be further refined as the analysis continues in coordination with the Department of Ecology, at which time we will release our final best estimate of the total quantity of oil spilled to the river.
The spill occurred during maintenance of the dam’s P6 turbine-generator unit.
To date we have not received any documented reports of negative effects from the spill to wildlife, fish or spawning areas.
Grant PUD takes these incidents very seriously and has staff trained and a contractor retained to respond quickly when spills, however rare, occur.
The state Department of Ecology is leading the in-water part of the cleanup. Read their latest update here: https://www.facebook.com/EcologyWA/posts/we-are-working-with-grant-pud-to-respond-to-a-spill-at-priest-rapids-dam-an-esti/1322618676576673/
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UPDATE, 12/6/2025: Crews continue cleanup efforts on the river. Continued clean-up and testing are happening at the powerhouse to determine the amount of mineral oil spilled. The state Department of Ecology still requests people stay off the river between Priest Rapids Dam and the Tri-City area until further notice. Unless we have important news to report over what remains of the weekend, our next update will be Monday. Ecology is the lead agency on the in-water work. Their last update sounds encouraging. Read it here: https://www.facebook.com/EcologyWA/posts/we-are-working-with-grant-pud-to-respond-to-a-spill-at-priest-rapids-dam-an-esti/1322618676576673/
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UPDATE, 12/5/2025, 3 p.m. -- Clean-up work continues today on a mineral-oil spill from Priest Rapids Dam detected by dam crews around 12:30 p.m., Dec. 3. The state Department of Ecology is leading the clean-up effort, with collaboration from Grant PUD and the utility’s contractor GrayMar Environmental. View Ecology’s incident updates here.
Oil has been contained inside the dam since the early afternoon of 12/3/2025. Grant PUD crews continue work on powerhouse clean-up and testing to determine how the oil entered the Columbia River and how much oil was lost.
Ecology officials urge the public to stay out of the water between the dam and Richland/Pasco, as cleanup continues. Next update: Monday, 12/8/2025.
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UPDATE, 12/4/2025, 5:14 p.m -- Clean-up crews were on the scene at 5 a.m. this morning placing protective booms around critical areas of the Columbia River, from Vernita Bridge to farther downriver. Work has been suspended for safety but will resume tomorrow morning. The new photos are of boat crews laying boom in the Vernita Bridge area Wednesday evening and today. The state Department of Ecology is overseeing the cleanup work and will decide when booms can be removed.
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MATTAWA -- Crews from Grant PUD and its contractor, GrayMar Environmental, have resumed work this morning to clean up a mineral-oil spill into the Columbia River from a turbine/generator unit at Grant PUD’s Priest Rapids Dam.
"While these kinds of spills are rare, we do take them very seriously," said Jeff Grizzel, Grant PUD's Senior Vice President of Power and Marketing Operations. "We have a spill response plan that includes regular training. We are now following that plan and using that training to work as quickly as possible to safely remove oil from the river."
The response team installed absorbent booms in the Columbia at Vernita Bridge, about nine miles downriver of the dam, on the afternoon of Dec. 3, to clean up the mineral oil which floats downstream on the river’s surface.
The spill happened around 1 p.m. on Dec. 3, as a Grant PUD crew serviced one of the dam’s generating units. The cause and how much oil spilled is still under investigation.
Grant PUD is coordinating the clean-up effort with the state Department of Ecology. Ecology is recommending that boaters stay off the river between Priest Rapids Dam and Pasco during the clean-up effort. Anyone seeing oiled wildlife downstream of Priest Rapids Dam is asked to call the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife at 800-222-4737.
Questions about this news release? Contact Christine Pratt,
About Grant PUD: Established by local residents over 80 years ago, Grant PUD generates and delivers energy to millions of customers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
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