News Release 154

DEPARTMENTS INVESTIGATE FISH KILL
AT DICKERSON PARK ZOO

Volume 36-154

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MARCH 20, 2008 -- Emergency responders from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will join staff from the Missouri Department of Conservation today to investigate the cause of a fish kill at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield.

Zoo staff notified the Department of Natural Resources today about a petroleum sheen and odor coming from the three- to four-acre, spring-fed lake at the zoo. A Department of Conservation staff member confirmed Thursday that hundreds of fish from the lake were dead or dying.

Emergency responders from the Department of Natural Resources' Southwest Regional Office in Springfield were dispatched to the zoo this morning to begin the investigation into the nature and source of the pollutant that caused the kill.

From July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, petroleum products accounted for 43 percent of materials released during environmental emergencies.

The Department of Natural Resources' Environmental Emergency Response section is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department's 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact the spill line at
573-634-2436. For more information, contact the Department of Natural Resources at
800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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