Utah Oil Spill... - ULC Inter-Tribal

Budog · 06-12-2010, 02:29 PM

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Pipeline leak spilling into Red Butte Creek
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 06/12/2010 11:38:07 AM MDT

A Chevron oil pipeline was leaking into Red Butte Creek on Saturday morning, Salt Lake City fire dispatchers have said. Hazardous materials clean-up crews were at the scene as of 10:15 a.m.

Hazmat crews were headed toward Liberty Park about 10:30 a.m. this morning, said Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Scott Freitag.

The source of the leak is near the greenhouses of Red Butte Gardens, below the actual garden property, said Dianne Crosby, the botanical garden's assistant director of visitors services.

The garden remains open to visitors, Crosby said. The leak is below the Red Butte Canyon nature preserve, which historically has been closed to the public.

The Tribune will report further details as they become available.

Budog.

Istasis · 06-12-2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budog

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Pipeline leak spilling into Red Butte Creek
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 06/12/2010 11:38:07 AM MDT

A Chevron oil pipeline was leaking into Red Butte Creek on Saturday morning, Salt Lake City fire dispatchers have said. Hazardous materials clean-up crews were at the scene as of 10:15 a.m.

Hazmat crews were headed toward Liberty Park about 10:30 a.m. this morning, said Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Scott Freitag.

The source of the leak is near the greenhouses of Red Butte Gardens, below the actual garden property, said Dianne Crosby, the botanical garden's assistant director of visitors services.

The garden remains open to visitors, Crosby said. The leak is below the Red Butte Canyon nature preserve, which historically has been closed to the public.

The Tribune will report further details as they become available.

Budog.

You have GOT to be kidding me!!!!

Budog · 06-12-2010, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Istasis

You have GOT to be kidding me!!!!

Nope, this is in an area in a stream that runs through the cities largest park and then to the Jordan River that runs all the way to the Great Salt Lake. This could be pretty bad news ecologically. Nothing like the Gulf of Mexico, but still not good...

Budog.

Budog · 06-12-2010, 03:37 PM

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Oil spill above Red Butte threatens waters, wildlifePublished: Saturday, June 12, 2010 1:02 p.m. MDT

SALT LAKE CITY — Crews have capped the site of an oil leak that allowed a "significant" amount of oil to escape into the Red Butte Ceek system Saturday morning. Officials reported that drinking water was not affected.

However, residents are advised to stay away from Red Butte Canyon and Liberty Park, which is closed for the day, so crews can manage the spill, according to the office of the Salt Lake City mayor. All water access points along Red Butte Creek, Liberty Park and the Jordan River, should be avoided by humans and animals at this time.

Thick, black oil slicks covered the pond at Liberty Park, while oil-soaked ducks and geese marched around the water source and fumes filled the air. Some residents along the waterways have reported finding dead fish.

Emergency workers are trying to contain the spill from a pipeline owned by Chevron, which apparently broke sometime Saturday morning. The line, which runs down Emigration Canyon to the company's refinery near Beck Street, carries crude oil from western Colorado and eastern Utah, to the Salt Lake valley.

Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Scott Frietag said the pipeline has been shut down but more oil remains in the pipe.

Employees at the VA Hospital first noticed the oil in the stream just before 7 a.m. Saturday. Officials then traced the spill to the pipe near Red Butte Garden. Frietag estimated that at its peak, the leak in the 10-inch pipe was gushing 50 gallons of oil per minute before it was shtu off at about 7:45 a.m.

A construction crew in the neighborhood used its heavy equipment to help dam the stream, Frietag said.

"Our real concern is keeping people safe, and keeping the oil from reaching the Great Salt Lake," Frietag said.

Crews are using absorbent booms and creating dams in an effort to contain the spill, but some oil has leaked as far as the Jordan River.

Officials believe the oil has been contained where it reached the river.

Chevron spokesman Mark Sullivan said the company takes full responsibility for the spill and intends to cover all financial costs of the containment and cleanup.

"We understand the sensitivity surrounding the oil industry right now and we take responsibility for fixing this," he said.

The pipeline is electronically monitored but Sullivan said he was not sure whether the system detected the leak or not.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is returning to Utah from Oklahoma to respond to the spill.

"We are working tirelessly with Chevron teams to contain this spill form the critical ecological areas affected in our City," Becker said in a statement.

Officials do not know what caused the pipe to break or what the full extent of the impact on wildlife may be.

Budog.

UncleMike · 06-12-2010, 05:47 PM

Here we go again.

Uncle(do you smell something oily)Mike

PS we need an oil soaked feather post icon...

Budog · 06-16-2010, 09:44 PM

Just a little update.

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Budog.

Budog · 06-19-2010, 02:06 PM

They discovered the cause of the pipeline rupture. It is bizarre and sounds like something from a sci-fi flick. A metal fence post near the pipeline was struck by lighning. It cased an arc that melted a hole in the pipeline! Strange stuff... The lightning caused a power outage which somehow disabled a warning alarm and the spillage went undetected for 9 hours.

Budog.