On February 26, 2007, Benson-Montin-Greer Drilling (BMG), the responsible party (RP), reported an estimated 200-barrel (bbl) crude oil spill to the National Response Center (827552). The spill is located in a remote area in northern New Mexico within the borders of the Santa Fe National Forest in Rio Arriba County. The oil spill occurred when a 4-inch gathering pipeline began leaking directly above Arroyo Puerto Chiquito. Arroyo Puerto Chiquito is a tributary of Rio Chama, which flows into the Rio Grande.
On Febuary 28, 2007, the United States Forest Service (USFS) requested the assistance of the EPA because this incident is the third spill in three years involving the company, the same pipeline and the same waterway.
Initially, BMG workers responded to the site, placed sorbent boom in the arroyo, and built an underflow dam and an earthen dam in attempt to stop the flow of oil downstream.
After request for assistance from the USFS, the EPA mobilized OSC Franklin and the EPA Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team contractor (START) to the site to investigate the incident and conduct on-scene monitoring. OSC Franklin and EPA START contractors met with USFS representatives at the USFS Ranger Station in Cuba, NM to discuss the current and previous spills and the concerns of the USFS representatives. USFS representatives included the Forest Ranger, an environmental engineer, a watershed program manager, and a geologist.
The EPA OSC, EPA START contractors, USFS representatives, and a BMG archological consultant mobilized to the PRP field office to meet with company president Mike Dimond. Mike Dimond led the group to the incident location. EPA and EPA START contractors observed only two workers on site and a vacuum truck sitting idle near the earthen dam. In addition, water and oil was observed flowing downstream under a layer of ice and snow. The spill pathway flows approximately 3/4 mile downstream through private property and the National Forest land. No impact to wildlife was observed by EPA and START. Mr. Dimond indicated that after the spill was found, an earthen dam and an earthen underflow dam were constructed and some sorbent boom was deployed. In addition, Mr. Dimond indicated 10 barrels of the 200 spilled was estimated to have been recovered.
After the site tour by EPA, USFS, and BMG representatives, including the archeological consultant, a meeting was held to discuss response options, priorities, and schedule. OSC Franklin advised the RP that current resources and response actions were not adequate, and that resources and response activities needed to be increased immediately to mitigate the spill and keep oil from flowing onto the Jicarilla Indian reservation and the Rio Chama. A response plan was developed and agreed to by EPA, USFS, and BMG.
BMG will mobilize more resources and equipment to improve the muddy roads for heavy eqipment on March 2, 2007. Worker crews will vacuum oil and oily water from underflow dam collection points, and will place absorbent boom and hay bales at the downstream distal end of the spill to prevent further downstream migration. Workers will also remove contaminated vegetation and the thin layer of contaminated soil on the private land along the spill pathway, and will conduct high volume, low pressure soil washing on the National Forest land, pending consultation with the USFS and Fish and Wildlife Services. The collected oil and water mixture will be recovered by vacuum trucks. Under advisement from the archological consultant, all work will be conducted in and restricted to a 100-foot radius of the arroyo to prevent damage to any potential historical sites in the area.
EPA will continue to coordinate with PRP representatives, the USFS, and archeological consultants to ensure timely and appropriate cleanup actions in the sensitive area.
It appeared that BMG had not deployed adequate resources or actions to mitigate the spill in a more timely manner. Cold weather, ice and snow may have hampered some of the response.
The site is located in a wetland area with possible archeological sites nearby.
The assesment of the extent of contamination was difficult due to the ice and snow.
|
