City officials say a company that recycles grease and food waste for restaurants has left a mess in the Santa Fe River.
City crews pumped out cooking oil Saturday evening that spilled into the river earlier in the day, turning a portion of the dry riverbed orange.
Restaurant owner Tim Eckre says workers with Valley Proteins, which retrieves grease from his business once a month, dropped a barrel of used canola oil around 5 a.m.
City water conservation workers say the workers used a hose to wash the oil into a storm drain instead of sopping it up.
Officials say that drain leads to the river.
No one at the Winchester, Virginia-based company's headquarters was immediately available Sunday to comment.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
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