BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Crews have returned to work at Padden Creek as the cleanup effort from this month’s fuel spill nears its end.

The Unified Command in charge of the cleanup, led by the state Department of Ecology, says it gave Faber Construction the green light to resume work on its fish passage project over the weekend.

The Interurban Trail at 10th Street over Padden Creek is also back open, but some equipment is still there so people are being asked to use caution when passing through.

My Bellingham Now previously reported that over 670 gallons of diesel were released into the creek earlier this month following two separate fuel spills from the same faulty pump at the site of the restoration project.

The Unified Command now says recent sampling results of sediment are back below detection levels.

A final walkthrough of the site took place on Monday, though Ecology has not confirmed to My Bellingham Now what the results of it were.

If crews didn’t find any recoverable fuel, flushing operations will stop and equipment will be removed from the site.