On 04 Sep 2015 at 1216hrs, Pepco notified the NRC of a mineral oil spill from one of its underground 8.5in cable conduits which houses di-electric fluid. It was reported to be non PCB. Pepco notified that up to as much as 5000gals of this oil may have been released and as much as 1000 gals may have impacted Rock Creek in NW Washington DC. Rock Creek is a tributary to the Potomac River and is on National Park Service properties. EPA Region III dispatched its DC outpost FOSC to assist the local DDOE and Pepco responders.
Pepco completed additional analysis of the remedial waste collected (soil, sand, debris and oily water mixture) and has updated the mass balance for this spill incident. As of 9/23/2015, Pepco has recovered approximately 86% of the 6,100 gallons of mineral oil which was released.
From the date the oil release was discovered by Pepco on 9/4/2015 to 9/13/2015, the Company maintained a 24/7 oil recovery operation at the storm water outlet on Rock Creek where the small amount of oil had entered the water. Since then, Pepco has been monitoring the creek for oil sheen twice a week. As a protective measure, Pepco is maintaining containment booms at the outlet and across the creek in accordance with DOEE’s guidance.
