On 11/19/2013, the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) responded to a report of an oil spill into Johns Creek. The KDEP responder observed crude oil in the small unnamed tributary of Johns Creek. The oil was observed to be coming out around the casing of an old gas well located on the right hand side of the creek approximately fifty feet from the last residence in the hollow. A responsible party could not be located for the well, so a contractor was hired to perform the clean-up. EPA OSC Ball issued a Pollution Response Funding Authorization (PRFA) to KDEP in the amount of $20,000 to cover the costs of the oil spill response.
On 12/09/2013, OSC Smith and KDEP visited the site to inspect the well site. At that time, no crude oil was observed at land surface, although a rainbow sheen was present in the small tributary. (See pictures under the images tab of the website www.epaosc.org/deweylakeoilwell).
On 09/12/2014, the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas (KDOG) referred this well to EPA for plugging and proper abandonment. KDOG has classified the well as Permit No. N22058, and labeled the site as Debbie Jarrell Well #1.
On 11/05/2014, the site was re-named from Dewey Lake Oil Well to Debbie Jarrell Well #1. Also on this date, an additional $30,000 in funding was obligated by the USCG National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) to cover costs of the continued investigation needed to identify Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) for this Site.
On 12/04/2014, the Tetra Tech Superfund Technical Assistance and Response Team (START) inspected the site, and gathered records on ownership of the lease. At the time of the inspection, no visible crude oil discharge was observed.
On 3/31/2015, the OSC notified the KDOG that the well failed to meet National Contingency Plan (NCP) criteria for plugging as there is no substantial threat of an oil discharge to navigable waters. This conclusion is based on no discharge observed over a 15 month period since the initla oil spill was reported.
No further federal action is anticipated.
