On 11/29/2015, a fisherman discovered an oil sheen on the Cumberland River and found it to be coming from the mouth of Lick Branch. On 12/02/2015, subsequent investigation by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) pinpointed the source to be a seep which enters Lick Branch at a point just upstream of its confluence with the Cumberland River at River Mile 434.6.
On 12/07/2015, the OSC performed a preliminary assessment and met with representatives of KDEP and the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas. At that time, the OSC observed a patchy sheen intermittently discharging from the seep at the base of a tree into an unnamed tributary to Lick Branch. It appears as if the discharge is crude oil, as there are both active and abandoned oil production facilities along Lick Branch, and a faint crude oil odor was observed at the seep location. There was no evidence of crude oil in Lick Branch, and the water levels in both Lick Branch and the Cumberland River were elevated due to an increase in discharge at Wolf Creek Dam.
The Division of Oil and Gas representative pointed out several abandoned oil wells along Lick Branch in the vicinity of the seep. One well, located at N 36.819143 W 85.258541, is an open borehole where the well casing has been removed. There was a faint crude oil odor observed at this location, which is within 600' of the seep. This open borehole may be contributing to the oil discharge at the seep, but that could not be confirmed as of the date of the OSC's initial recon of the Site.
The OSC completed the preliminary assessment and confirmed the presence of a minor oil discharge, which constitutes a substantial threat of a discharge into the Cumberland River, a navigable water of the United States. At the time of the preliminary assessment, the water levels in Lick Branch were elevated to a degree which mitigated the discharge to the Cumberland River. The OSC considers that removal of the oil discharge into Lick Branch is infeasible at this time.
Both EPA and the KDEP are actively monitoring the oil discharge and will continue the investigation in an attempt to identify the source.
