On July 9, 2009 at 0315, the “New Dawn” barge operated by Tidewater Barge Lines (TBL or RP) ran aground on a reportedly uncharted sand bar near the mouth of the Hood River on the Columbia River, near river mile 169.
The “New Dawn” was being pushed up-river to Pasco, Washington by the river tug “The Chief” while carrying a cargo of 25,000 barrels (bbls; 1,050,000 gallons) of gasoline. The “New Dawn” is a double hull design, and neither hull has been reported breached. No release has occurred, and USCG and other marine chemist inspections of barge (New Dawn) found no leaks or vapor problems.
River mile 169 is between Bonneville Dam and The Dalles Dam projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The intervening segment of the Columbia River is also known as Lake Bonneville or Bonneville Pool.
EPA has entered into unified command (UC) with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), Washington Department of Ecology (WADoE), Tidewater Barge Lines, and other state, federal, and local agencies. The UC developed and Incident Action Plan (IAP) for implementation during July 10, 2009.
Friday July 10, 2009
UC conducted a pre-lightering operations meeting at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Vancouver, Washington at approximately 0615 hours. The agencies reviewed the IAP and key objectives, notifications to local agencies, staffing, and developing a joint information center (JIC) with officers representing each party of Unified Command (UC).
The USCG completed the pre-lightering marine safety inspection including physical crawl and hulls of the "New Dawn". THE IAP was sent to Hood River field staff for review and sign off by persons-in-charge (PICs). EPA START was on scene at the barge to document review of the IAP, Responsible Party (RP; TBL) documentation of air monitoring readings during transfer, and final marine safety inspection prior to decoupling the "New Vision" from the "New Dawn".
At 0825 hours, the IAP was accepted, reviewed, and signed off by PICs at the grounding site.
At 0900 hours, the PICs decided to reposition the "New Vision" by turning it 180 degrees relative to the "New Dawn". This allowed the receiving barge "New Vision" to be in deeper water in case additional fuel will need to be transferred off.
Lightering began at 1050 hours after the Declaration of Inspection was completed by TBL PICs. By 1415 hours, approximately 4,800 bbls of gasoline had been lightered, lightening the "New Dawn" by approximately 630 tons. By 1600 hours, approximately 8,000 bbls had been lightered, lessening the displacement of the "New Dawn" a total of approximately 1,050 tons. Personnel on the "New Dawn" then reported some shuddering movements, but the barge was not yet floating free.
At approximately 1800 hours, the "New Dawn" slid backwards slightly and the stern end pivoted. Lightering was halted after transferring 12,318 bbls (517,356 gallons) of gasoline.
At 1845 hours, mooring lines between the barges were released, and the "New Vision" was backed away. At 1854 hours, the "New Dawn" was backed off the bar and moved to a safe location for a USCG marine safety inspection. The USCG conducted the follow-up inspection of the interstitial spaces and determined that the barge had no leaks and retained its integrity. No release to the Columbia River water occurred.
None.
The "New Dawn" and the tug "The Chief" are anticipated to continue to Pasco, Washington to offload the remaining cargo. The "New Vision" and tug "Defiance" are anticipated to proceed to the Portland area to offload the lightered cargo.
* High national, regional, local media interest, print and television with general positive coverage.
* Washington Department of Ecology (DoE) contacted the Spring Creek Hatchery and confirmed GRP information and current status.
* Gathered further information regarding potential evacuation of recreational users (windsurfers, etc) near the Wells Island GRP strategy if a release were to occur.
* Lliaison calls made to local emergency agencies (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) this morning prior to lightering.
* Triggers determined for continuing planning cycles: release of more than a few gallons during the lightering transfer, or significant deviation from the IAP.
* Triggers for ending the incident and beginning demobilization determined: the successful decoupling of the "New Vision" from the "New Dawn" (after the USCG marine safety inspectors approve).
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