Contractor cleans up after asphalt tanker spill along northern New Mexico river

Spill cleanup under way along New Mexico river

CUBA, N.M. — A contractor is working with several state and federal agencies to clean up after a tanker truck that overturned and spilled thousands of gallons of an oily, hot asphalt mixture in the mountains east of Cuba, N.M.

Santa Fe National Forest spokesman Bruce Hill says it’s unclear how long the cleanup will take. The spill happened Tuesday.

Hill says both state and federal employees were working Thursday to determine the extent of the damage along the Rio de Las Vacas.

A pond that has become a collection source for the contamination is being drained. The material is then being mixed with clean sand so it can be excavated and hauled to Albuquerque for recycling.

Hill says there are no reports of any fish or animals succumbing to the spill.