On February 26, 2007, Benson Montin Greer Drilling (BMG) notified the National Response Center of a crude oil spill in an arroyo (Arrroyo Puerto Chiquito)in the Santa Fe National Forest, located in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. The spill was reported to have been confined within a small area in the arroyo. On February 28, 2007, the US Forest Service environmental engineer for the USFS region called EPA Region 6 and requested assistance. EPA then mobilized OSC Franklin and its START contractor to the site to conduct on-scene monitoring.
EPA and START met with USFS officials and toured the spill site on March 1, 2007. Spill response activities were observed to be slow and resources few. The spill had affected approximately 3/4 mile of the arroyo. The spill has traveled through private land as well as National Forest land. The arroyo flows into the Rio Chama, which flows into the Rio Grande River. Site conditions which include cold weather as well as ice and snow, made response and asessment more difficult. A response plan, priorities and implementation schedule were agreed to by EPA, USFS, and BMG, with increased activities to begin on March 2, 2007.
