Polution Situation Report

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
Beaver Creek Bridge Crude Oil Spill - Removal Polrep

EPA Emergency Response

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region IV

Subject:

POLREP #3
Plugging of Harrison Well #2 Completed
Beaver Creek Bridge Crude Oil Spill

Glasgow, KY
Latitude: 36.9914130 Longitude: -85.9861300

To:

From:

Perry Gaughan, OSC

Date:

10/10/2014

Reporting Period:

9/26/14 through 10/04/14

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Site Number:	Z4ZB	Contract Number:
D.O. Number:		Action Memo Date:
Response Authority:	OPA	Response Type:	Emergency
Response Lead:	EPA	Incident Category:	Removal Action
NPL Status:	Non NPL	Operable Unit:
Mobilization Date:	9/19/2014	Start Date:	9/19/2014
Demob Date:		Completion Date:
CERCLIS ID:		RCRIS ID:
ERNS No.:		State Notification:
FPN#:	E14459	Reimbursable Account #:

1.1.1 Incident Category
Region 4 Emergency Response and Removal Branch (ERRB) responded to a continuous release of crude oil along a one half mile section of Beaver Creek three miles west of Glasgow, Kentucky. Response efforts were initially requested by Kentucky Dept Environmental Protection (KDEP) and are being performed under the OSC's Oil Pollution Act authority.

1.1.2 Site Description
The spill Site is along the flood plain of a 50 acre farm three miles west of Glasgow. Crude oil continues to emanate from a creek bank into a 100 yard section of Beaver Creek in a remote section of the creek. Approximately a one half mile stretch of the creek has been impacted. The spill is located immediately south of a recent interchange construction by Kentucky DOT along the Louie B. Nunn Expressway between Interstate 65 and Glasgow, Ky.

1.1.2.1 Location
The spill is located along Beaver Creek on a 50 acre farm along State Route 1297 where it runs under the Louie B. Nunn Expressway.

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat
The crude oil release is most likely emanating from one of three abandoned oil wells along the flood plain. The most likely scenario is that one or more wells were improperly plugged or cemented during well closure and crude oil is communicating with groundwater levels below surface.

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results
EPA working with Kentucky DEP and the property owner has located three former well locations which could potentially be the source of crude. Kentucky DOT has recently built an interchange on the L. Nunn Expressway on an 8 acre parcel of the farm upgradient of the creek.

2. Current Activities

2.1 Operations Section

2.1.1 Narrative

Monday Sep 22nd, 2014 through Friday, Sep 26th

During the beginning of the week, ERRs contractors continued switching out boom and placing hard boom as necessary to mitigate the threat of oil flowing downstream and impacting the Barren River Lake. Additional equipment and a 20,000 gallon frac tank were mobilized to the site to store wash water and to prepare for mitigating a large volume of oil/water impacting the creek during operations. ERRs successfully identified an oil well service contractor and a geophysics logging company to run cement bond logs on the identified wells.

From historical records, Kentucky Oil and Gas' Ron Norris feels the initial well to be plugged is the Harrison Farm Well No. 2 which is reported to be 600 feet deep. This well was discovered while assessing the area with the property owner on Saturday, September 20th. No surface casing was initially evident and the abandoned well was covered with soil. A strong petroleum odor was noted while assessing the condition of the creek and oil stained soil was noted at the well location. A second well approximately 200 feet from Harrison Well #2 was also located in a treeline north of the suspected well.

On Friday Sept 26th, the oil well service subcontractor set up on the well location and determined that additional trees and branches at 50-60 foot height required clearing in order to proceed safely with oil well plugging. On Saturday, Sept 27th, a temporary well head with a 7" opening was welded to the surface casing to give operators the ability to "shut the well in" in case a major blow out was encountered during "drill out" and plugging operations.

Monday, Sept 29th through Saturday, October 4th

On Monday, Sept 29th, the oil well service contractor began drilling through an initial surface obstruction at a depth of 20 feet. This appeared to be a wood plug which historically, was a typical way of plugging abandoned wells. Over the next two days, the well contractor methodically drilled through an initial wood plug and three intermittent cement plugs down to a depth of 200 feet where the driller hit a metal obstruction in the well.

On Thursday morning, October 2nd, a magnetic tool was dropped in an attempt to pull the obstruction out but it appeared to be heavily cemented in place. Metal filings were evident on the tool. Next, an impression block was dropped to identify the obstruction and a 2" pipe impression was evident on the wax block. It appeared to the well contractor that the previous operator of the well had lost a 200 to 400 foot string of 2" production pipe in the well and the decision was made to cement the production pipe in place in the mid 1980's. According to Kentucky Oil and Gas records, this well is reported to be 600 feet deep with two probable oil producing zones at 400 feet and 600 feet (Leeper formation).

Thursday afternoon, a well logging service contractor, Southern Well Wireline Services was brought in and the depth to the obstruction was determined to be 194 feet. 7" casing was evident on the cement bond log to a depth of 144 feet and a seven inch cast iron bridge plug was placed on a casing collar at 124 feet. Good cement was noted behind the casing so no casing perforations were done. After placing the cast iron bridge plug, the flow of crude oil to the surface casing level appeared to stop.

On Friday, October 3rd, the well service contractor successfully grouted the well with 200 sacks of cement. A significant amount of cement most likely flowed out at the groundwater level of the well casing because no cement flowed to the top of the surface casing at surface level.

ERRs continued switching out asorbent boom and mopping operations along the creek bank the following day. A decrease in oil sheen was very visible at levels upgradient of the well location along the creek. Sheen was still visible from areas downgradient of the well after plugging.

The OSC is unable to approximate the volume of crude oil which leaked from the well to subsurface soils and therefore, oil sheen may continue to flow from the creek bank for an extended time.

2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

The OSC is working with Kentucky Oil and Gas in identifying previous drillers in the area. Once identified, EPA will pursue normal responsible party liability and request plugging records by operators. Wells in this area of Kentucky date back to 1930's to 1940's. Wells in an area of Boyds Creek less than ten miles from this site date back to 1865 (Civil War).

2.1.4 Progress Metrics

*Waste Stream*	*Medium*	*Quantity*	*Manifest #*	*Treatment*	*Disposal*

2.2 Planning Section

2.2.1 Anticipated Activities

EPA currently plans on having ERRs contractor solicit oil well service subcontract bids and well and cement bond logging capability bids.

2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities

Methodical plugging of all abandoned oil wells along the flood plain until the threat has been mitigated.

2.2.1.2 Next Steps

2.2.2 Issues

2.3 Logistics Section