July
27, 2024 at 9:49 am, the EPA was notified by the National Response Center of a
spill of an unknown amount of crude oil from a storage tank at a Crescent
Midstream facility located in Raceland, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.
According to the Responsible Party (RP), an above ground storage tank feeding
an overflow storage tank released crude oil into secondary containment. The
crude oil then migrated through an open valve within the secondary containment
area and released an unknown amount of crude oil into Bayou Lafourche. Bayou
Lafourche is classified as Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The total volume of crude
oil released from the pipeline has been estimated by Crescent Midstream to be
approximately 820 barrels of crude oil. This estimate includes material
on-site as well as off-site. Crescent Midstream will provide an updated estimate
of amount released to the Bayou after further calculations. Approximately 3 miles of bayou at 80 feet in
width, has been impacted by the spill. The RP currently has contractors
on-site conducting an assessment and beginning recovery operations.
The
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is on-site conducting an
assessment. The Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office (LOSCO) is on site
conducting an assessment with LDEQ and will provide state oversight to the RP.
The Lafourche Parish President is on site conducting an assessment. The USCG is
on-site to ensure their jurisdictional zone is not impacted.
EPA
and its technical assistance contractor (START) were activated and mobilized to
the incident. EPA will assess the spill area, integrate into on-site Unified
Command, and provide federal oversight to the RP on cleanup actions. The spill
location is in the EPA’s Area of Responsibility; therefore, EPA is the lead
agency.
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