The site is the Olympic Pipe Line facility at 2201 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, Washington. The site is located on the west side of Lind Avenue between SW 27th St and SW 19th St. The facility is surrounded by wetlands, including the Renton Wetlands to the north and northwest. To the west of the site is Springbrook Creek. Springbrook Creek is a tributary of the Black River, which is a tributary of the Green/Duwamish River which is a Navigable Waterbody. The Duwamish River flows into the Puget Sound. The surrounding area includes a mix of commercial, office and industrial buildings with areas of landscaped lawns and undeveloped wetlands.
At 0825 on May 23, 2004, an explosion occurred at gasoline pipeline facility operated by Olympic Pipe Line (the responsible party [RP]). Initial reports were that an explosion occurred near a sampling valve on a 1/2" sampling tube that was attached to the main pipeline. The Renton Fire Department (RFD) responded and put out the fire. An unknown quantity of gasoline was released from the damaged pipe to the ground, causing an explosive atmosphere. The impacted section of the pipeline released approximately 48 to 200 barrels of gasoline, which is approximately 2,016 to 8,400 gallons of gasoline. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and British Petroleum/Olympic Pipe Line Company have formed a unified command.
***Sunday, May 23, 2004 - EPA OSC (2), START (2): At 1150 hours, EPA OSCs and two members of the Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START-2) responded to the scene of a gasoline leak, explosion, and fire. The OSC met with state and local emergency officials and attended Unified Command meetings. Other parties on site include a Spill Response Team from the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE), the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Renton Fire Department (RFD). RFD continued to lead the site response until the fire was extinguished, the leak was stopped, and the explosive vapors dissipated. EPA conducted air monitoring in the area to determine if gasoline vapors were migrating off-site. EPA’s START-2 contractor measured air downwind of the site for organic and explosive vapors. No organic or explosive vapors were detected.
***Monday, May 24, 2004 - EPA (1), START (2): At 0600 hours, EPA returned to the site. Response efforts are being conducted by British Petroleum (BP) and Olympic Pipe Line Company as co-operators of the pipeline. BP / Olympic provided an initial estimate of approximately 4,000 to 10,000 gallons that were released, including any gasoline that was consumed in the fire. The primary issue, relative to the environment, was to determine the impact, if any, of the spilled gasoline to the wetlands, surface waterbodies, and the adjoining shorelines. BP / Olympic Pipe Line presented a plan to install five 4" monitoring wells along the property boundary between the site of the gasoline leak and the downgradient wetlands. The wells will be used to determine if the gasoline released on site is migrating offsite, and they can used as product recovery wells if free product is detected. Representatives from EPA, Department of Ecology, and the RP also developed an environmental monitoring plan to assess whether released gasoline impacted he surface waters of the wetlands. Samples were collected from several locations in the wetlands and Springbrook Creek. The samples were screened in the field and submitted to an analytical laboratory for petroleum constituents. As of 1800 hours on May 24, preliminary results did not indicate a significant impact to the surface water near the leak site. Additional samples from the monitoring sites will be sampled periodically for the next several days to determine if concentrations of petroleum constituents increase over time.
Removal activities are being led by the RP. EPA is currently filling command (FOSC) and environmental unit (START)positions.
EPA will be on site May 25, 2004 to assess drilling activities to determine threat of release to adjoining shorelines and nearby wetlands. Decision to demobilize will depend upon results of the monitoring well installation.
For the next few days, the RP plans to continue the installation of the recovery wells and to assess whether gasoline is migrating off site. EPA will monitor activities as needed based upon results of the monitoring well installation.
The release, explosion, and fire caused the Olympic Pipeline Company to shut down the entire pipeline as a safety precaution. The pipeline provides fuel to SEATAC airport.
Media attention has been high. Several press conferences have been held and a total of three press releases were issued.
|
