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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Military officials plan to leave alone the remaining jet fuel from two F-16 tanks jettisoned over the Great Salt Lake last week.
Hill Air Force Base officials said they'll let natural processes break down fuel left in the soil.
Most of the fuel evaporated shortly after impact and there's no sign that it's building up in the water or low spots in the area, according to Col. Linda Medler, 75th Air Base Wing Commander. The process of "natural attenuation" will deal with what's left behind, she said.
"The bacteria population naturally found in the ground is very good at breaking down and eliminating fuels from the environment," she said in a statement.
The process will take one to three years, she said.
The pilot dropped the 18-foot-long tanks Dec. 12 onto a mud flat about three miles north of Antelope Island after the plane's sensors indicated a fire shortly after take-off. The pilot landed safely.
The tanks, capable of carrying 370 gallons of fuel, were about two-thirds full when they were dropped. The tanks have been removed from the site.
Crews tried twice to burn the residual fuel at the impact site but were unsuccessful because of cold, wet conditions. Hill Air Force Base biologists visiting the site have seen no sign of problems for wildlife in the area, Medler said.
Removing the fuel from the area would have required heavy equipment and likely lead to far more environmental damage, Medler said.
State officials said they agree with the decision. "Any attempts to physically remove the fuel would probably result in greater damage to the environment over a larger area and for a longer time," Dave Grierson, of the state's Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said in a statement.
Military officials will monitor the site, sampling soils to track how well the fuel is being broken down, Medler said. State officials will also participate in the monitoring.
The 388th Fighter Wing, which the pilot belongs to, is investigating the incident. Officials with the wing said last week that the initial indications are that the pilot acted properly in jettisoning the tanks into an unpopulated area.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
