Salt Lake City Oil Leak contaminating waterways

Mendoza Line · #1 06-12-2010, 06:06 PM

Our (much smaller) version of the gulf oil leak.

Thanks, Chevron!!

SALT LAKE CITY -- A massive effort is underway to clean up the damage left behind when a Chevron pipeline leaked close to 500 barrels of oil into Salt Lake City waterways Saturday.

Leak detected

Crews have capped the site of a leak, which was spilling oil into Red Butte Creek. Chevron officials have confirmed the pipeline has been shut off, but warn residual oil may be leaking at the fracture point.

Though the site of the leak has been contained, officials estimate between 400 and 500 barrels of oil have already been released.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department says the oil has reached the Jordan River down to 1300 South and appears to be continuing into the Great Salt Lake.

Scott Freitag, a spokesman with the Salt Lake City Fire Department, says employees at the Veterans Affairs Hospital spotted oil in the creek around 6:45 a.m.

However, at a press conference Saturday afternoon, officials reported the leak actually began sometime Friday night.

Freitag estimated close to 50 gallons per minute of crude oil were leaking into Red Butte Creek at one point.

Chevron officials still aren't sure how the leak started or exactly what time it began, but the company did announce it was taking full responsibility.

The leak is located near Red Butte Garden and Red Butte Canyon close to the University of Utah.

"We've set up containment ponds all down the creek," said Freitag.

The crude oil belongs to Chevron and comes from their Colorado 10-inch pipeline, which runs down Emigration Canyon and heads west over Beck Street in Salt Lake City to the company refinery.

Chevron crews, firefighters, hazardous materials teams, and environmental crews are using sandbags and other sponge-type equipment in an attempt to contain the oil. Groupings of 6-to 8-inch absorbent booms have also been deployed along the Jordan River to minimize downstream impact.

Chevron officials still aren't sure how the leak started or exactly what time the leak began.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker says drinking water for residents has not been affected.

"We are working tirelessly with Chevron teams to contain this spill from the critical ecological areas affected in our city," said Becker, who is heading to Salt Lake City from Oklahoma City where he was attending the National Conference of Mayors. "Our fire teams have capped the site and will work to determine the damage and best course of action."

Mayor Becker is asking for residents to stay away from Red Butte Canyon and Liberty Park so crews can adequately manage the spill, and says all water access points along Red Butte Creek, Liberty Park and the Jordan River should be avoided by humans and animals at this time.

City officials say they are not in need of resident volunteers at this point.

Wildlife affected

The leak forced the closure of Liberty Park around 10 a.m., where oil has coated dozens of birds who have made their home on the pond there. Among them are about 150 Canada Geese who were set to be moved to a bird refuge Sunday.

"Virtually every goose has some oil on it," said Tom Aldridge, migratory game bird coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "A lot of them are just coated from about the water line, but there are a number of birds that started preening and have oil completely covering their bodies."

Aldridge said the birds will be captured and moved to holding areas at Hogle Zoo, where volunteers will be used to help clean them up.

The DWR moves migrating geese from the pond every year and takes them to more outlying wetlands. Aldridge showed up at the park Saturday morning when he smelled and saw the oil, then saw the birds.

"A number of young have been produced here and we're trying to make plans to get them to places that are a bit cleaner to live," he said.

Aldridge said oil has been detected in the Jordan River and as far away as the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge.

Emergency responders have placed oil-absorbing booms across the rivers and some waterways in hopes of containing the spill.

Frietag says the oil has also killed some fish in the waterways.

ZoomVT · #2 06-12-2010, 07:22 PM

im so sick of these oil companies. There should be many more safeguards against this kind of accidents. they charge us enough, maybe they could put some of that profit into their operation so this doesnt happen. ever.

Or alternatively, maybe we need the govt to step in and regulate the industry. Right now, they continue to make record profits, yet it seems they dont invest it in the business to maintain proper operations and safeguards.

i was going to go down a political tirade, but i'll save it. i know some people like small govt, but stuff like this makes me think the govt should regulate more; even if it was half as efficient and it cost double as much we would probably still pay less for fuel and have a safer environment.
Just saying.