United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region X
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

The spill area adjacent to the pipeline has been mostly delineated.  It was calculated that 1.93 acres of tundra and frozen lake surface may have been impacted.  Snow removal along and under the pipeline is continuing.  Additional oil maybe found in these areas.  

The spill is contained by natural and man-made snow berms.  Certain berms are being reinforced with ice by the addition of water.  Snow and frozen conditions allow for working on the tundra and minimize damage from people, equipment, and oil contamination  

Weather: Mostly cloudy chance of snow with patchy fog, highs 5F to 10 F below west winds to 10MPH

EPA has a FOSC, Matt Carr, and 1 START on the North Slope in the IMT at the Prudhoe Bay Operations Center. OSC Jeff Rodin is traveling to the slope to relieve M Carr tommorrow anlong with a START relief.

An EPA OSC is also in Anchorage at BP corporate headquaters and an additional START contractor is participating in a Joint Operations Center in Anchorage on a as needed basis.

RESPONSE ACTION:  Incident response priorities and objectives are
• Ensure all personnel are safe
• Mitigate potential of further release
• Investigate the cause of the spill
• Continue containment of the spill
• Implement a plan to restart the pipeline

The leak source has been exposed and positively identified.  Workers have applied a temporary patch at this time and will implement a repair plan once some further testing as well as a job safety analysis have been completed.  There is currently no estimate on when the repair to the line will be completed.

Numerous vacuum trucks are currently on-site recovering oil.  Approximately 1,335 bbls (56,070 gallons) of oil/water have been recovered as of 7:00 AM on March 7, 2006.

Currently the primary recovery tactic is to use vacuum trucks to pick up pooled oil.  A heavy oil pump is being used on the inlet of each vacuum hose to assist in moving the oil. Snow removal along and under the pipeline is continuing.  Additional oil may be found in these areas.
  
A 24-hour cleanup operation is in effect.  A total of 60 spill responders, 30 for the day shift and 30 for the night shift, are working in the field-cleanup efforts.  

BPXA has completed construction of a 400 foot by 400 foot ice pad which is now hardening in the cold weather.  BPXA continues construction of an ice road and pad to improve site access and to stage response equipment on the north side of the spill area.

The Unified Command has approved, or received approval for:
• Disposal of waste fluids
• Construction of an ice pad and ice roads
• Tundra travel
• Health and Safety Plan
• Current operational period Incident Action Plan

CG2 remains shutdown, BP has applied freeze protection to approximately 230 wells and associated flow lines effected by the shutdown.

All waste is being handled according to the approved waste handling plan.  Recovered fluids in the vacuum trucks continue to be transported to Flow Station 2 (FS-2) and offloaded into a 10,000 barrel (bbl) tank.  Soils in the caribou crossing area are being tested for contamination and will be handled appropriately.  Contaminated snow and ice are being stockpiled at the CC-2A facility.  A snow melter will be installed at CC-2A, and melted fluids will be taken to the FS-2 tank.

Free liquid oil will continue to be recovered using Vac trucks and viscous oil pumping equipment. Removal of snow and segregation of oiled, contaminated snow will occur to expose the oiled tundra and frozen lake surface. Response tactics such as warm water flushing followed by recovery are anticipated to occur in the future. Plans to repair the pipeline and resume pumping operations will be implemented after the source has been identified.

Construction of an ice road to acess the north side of the spill site and a ice pad staging area is ongoing, completion of the ice road will improve site acess and the ice pad staging area will allow improved management of spill response equipment

Additional response actions include determining the volume spilled and cause of the spill.  Plans to repair the pipeline and resume GC-2 facility operations are being developed now that the source has been identified.

Frostbite is a concern and BPXA is swapping crews frequently and is providing warm up shacks for workers.  

The volume is unknown at this time.  A volume estimation protcol was approved by the Unified Command and is beingimplemented on the site to estimate the spill size