An incident involving the release of asphalt oil was reported to NRC at 09:44 a.m. on January 22, 2014 at the Albina Asphalt Terminal 2 facility in Vancouver, Washington.  The RP, EPA, and Washington Department of Ecology responded to the scene.  The asphalt oil was observed to not have escaped secondary containment and the emergency phase is over.  Approximately 203 thousand gallons of asphalt oil was released.  Cleanup and recovery operations are in progress and the incident is under control.

The Albina Asphalt Terminal 2 facility (the facility) is located on private property with a street address of 1300 West 8^th Street, Vancouver, Washington, 98666.  The facility is currently in operation and is managed through the office at the Albina Terminal 1 property nearby at 1112 W 7th St, Vancouver, Washington, 98666.  The facility is owned by Albina Fuel headquartered at 801 Main Street, Vancouver, Washington, 98660.

The facility is in the business of supplying asphalt oil for paving companies.  Two field-erected aboveground storage tanks exceeding 1,000,000 gallons shell capacity each, provide the bulk of the facility’s oil storage capacity.  A number of smaller containers exist at this terminal, plus a truck loading rack, a railcar unloading area, and associated piping, pumps, and valves.  Asphalt oil is heated internally in the tanks with a closed loop hot oil system heated by a natural gas fired plant.  Secondary containment for the facility is provided with an earthen dike berm and concrete blocks (see Photo #5).

The facility operates under a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan.  The facility does not have a current EPA approved Facility Response Plan (FRP) in effect at present.  The facility was inspected by EPA Region 10 SPCC and FRP inspectors in May 2013 with EPA Region 10 Office of Compliance Enforcement proceedings pending at the present time.

Section 1.1.2.1 Location

The property that the facility is operated on is bounded by West 8^th Street to the south, Hill Street to the northeast, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad tracks to the northwest.  The property is located within a heavily industrialized area of eastern Vancouver with properties owned by the Port of Vancouver and BNSF Railroad nearby. 

The northern shoreline of the Columbia River is approximately 280 feet south of the facility.  According to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/criticalhabitat.htm, critical habitat for Chinook Salmon exists in the Columbia River immediately adjacent to the facility.  The Columbia River is also heavily trafficked by shipping and pleasurecraft operating through the USCG maintained navigation channel.

BNSF Railroad mainlines, siding track, and yard tracks are located near the facility.  BNSF Railroad ships a variety of commodities on these tracks including placarded hazardous materials, Bakken Formation crude oil, coal, and grain.  The BNSF north-south mainlines and east-west mainlines form a junction approximately 100 feet north of the facility.

Amtrak operates passenger rail service trains on BNSF tracks with the Vancouver Amtrak Station located approximately 100 feet north of the facility.

Washington Department of Ecology and USEPA Region 10 OSCs assessed the situation and determined that the emergency phase is over and that the facility is capable of handling recovery efforts with minimal oversight.  OSC Heister returned to the site on 1/29/14 for a tour and concluded that the removoval was 90% complete.  See photos #7 and #8 for  "Before and After" shots.

The FOSC and SOSC have responded to the facility and have viewed the spilled product, the circumference of the facility’s secondary containment dike, and the emergency operations of the facility’s personnel and management.

EPA Region 10 START was on site from approximately 12:00 hours to 14:30 hours to photo-document the spilled product and to provide information on the most recent federal SPCC inspection of the facility.

a.       The facility made proper notification to the National Response Center (Reports 1071822 and 1071825) at 9:44 am (pacific time) with an update at 10:10 am (pacific time)

b.      Washington Department of Ecology SOSC Curt Piesch responded to the scene.

c.       EPA Region 10 OSC Dan Heister responded to the scene.

d.      EPA Region 10 START team member Ryan Whitchurch responded to the scene.

e.      The scene was documented with a digital camera and logbook.

f.        ICS Form 201 was completed.

g.       Emergency H&S plan for the facility was created.

h.      Tank 1 inspection records were requested from the facility.

i.         Photographs and preliminary checklist from last federal SPCC inspection conducted at the facility were reviewed.

j.        Facility response and disposal procedures were reviewed and discussed.

a.       An RP, Albina Asphalt (aka Albina Fuel) of Vancouver, Washington, has been identified based on NRC reports, facility signage and records, and based on contact with facility personnel.

b.      The RP is carrying out response and recovery efforts for the incident at the facility.

c.       A federal SPCC inspection occurred at the facility on May 28, 2013.  Enforcement outcome is pending.

d.      Current facility SPCC records (inspection records, gauging records, etc) will be reviewed once they are submitted to EPA.

EPA and Ecology will monitor the progress of recovery at the facility using means TBD.  The facility stated intentions to allow the spilled product to cool to ambient temperatures and begin removal on Monday, January 27, 2014.  Removed material in essentially solid form would be loaded into lined dump trucks and be transported to Hillsboro Landfill for permitted disposal (permit TBD).  The normal placarded hazard of “HOT” would not apply to these loads of ambient product.  As stated in earlier sections, as of 1/30/14 the vast majority of the material has been removed from the containment area and sent for disposal.

EPA and Ecology do not plan any further response activities other than to monitor the RP’s activities and follow up with root cause and enforcement activity if necessary.

Contact with facility on Monday January 27, 2014 regarding removal initiation.

Discuss potential SPCC discrepancies with OCE.

The RP is managing their own logistics with the aid of contractors.

The safety officer is Kevin Jeffers with the RP.

The information officer is Kevin Jeffers with the RP.

Unified command consists of:

a.       Kevin Jeffers – RPIC

b.      Jeff Arntson – Deputy RPIC

c.       Dan Heister – EPA FOSC

d.      Curt Piesch – Ecology SOSC

a.       EPA

a.       Dan Heister, OSC

b.      Washington Department of Ecology

a.       Curt Piesch, OSC

b.      CAN’T RECALL THE OTHER RESPONDER

c.       Albina

a.       Kevin Jeffers

b.      Jeff Arntson

c.       Joanne Trask (Wohlers consultant)

d.      Other unidentified personnel

d.      EPA Region 10 START

a.       Ryan Whitchurch

a.       PRP – Potentially Responsible Party

b.      RP – Responsible Party

c.       Ecology – Washington State Department of Ecology

d.      SPCC – Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures

e.      FRP – Facility Response Plan

f.        TBD – To be determined

g.       OSC – On Scene Coordinator

h.      FOSC – Federal OSC

i.         SOSC – State OSC

j.        RPIC – Responsible Party In Charge

k.       START – Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team

l.         EPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency

m.    OCE – EPA Region 10 Office of Compliance and Enforcement

n.      BNSF – Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (Railroad)

o.      PRFA – Pollution Removal Funding Authorization

p.      NRC – National Response Center (USCG)

q.      USCG – United States Coast Guard

r.        TDD – Technical Direction Document

a.       National Oil Database