2.1.1 Narrative
Please see earlier POLREPs for information prior to this reporting period.
This reporting period, the response planning and reporting process was formalized. Incident Command Structure (ICS) Forms 202, 207 and 214 are now being utilized each operational period (currently 24 hour operational period).
1. Report by Geographic Division. For organizational
purposes, the site has been divided geographically as detailed below, and shown
in the well pad and waterway
maps located in the documents section of the website.
These maps are being revised to add updated nomenclature.
During May 9-11, further work was done to develop and implement strategies to
address these areas:
Well- No further releases occurred. The well was
successfully plugged with a bridge plug/ retrievable well packer at 1750 on May
8. The former well head was removed successfully on May 9. Overnight on May 10,
the new well head and blow out preventer were installed, and successfully
tested under the oversight of Ohio DNR Oil and Gas Division. Further work on
the well was on a standdown starting May 11, for drilling pad cleaning.
PDC Energy is still considering what to do with the well, either prepare
it for reuse or plug and abandon.
Drilling Pad- Free product remains present on pad and in the pad's
stormwater drainage system. 3 catch basins are located on the pad. Catch basin
pumpout is ongoing, and catch basins are being kept pumped down to prevent
discharges from the pad to the sedimentation basins. The pad is also drained by
a subsurface french drain system that drains to the catch basins. The catch
basins drain to 2 sediment traps (described below). After the well was
plugged, work began to clean up oil from portions of the pad. Steam cleaning is
ongoing. Due to the extensive nature of contamination in the pad, the
challenges associated with cleaning it while the rig is in place, and the
therefore high potential for additional release from the pad, plans are being
developed to hydrologically isolate the pad and product on the pad from the
surrounding environment, and hopefully permanently prevent discharges, until the
pad is fully remediated.
On May 11, it was discovered that the catch basins were improperly installed,
resulting in a discharge bypass route around one of the catch basins and into
the upstream end of West Lateral. Plans are under development to correct
installation flaw and stop the discharge bypass. Absorbents were installed at
the seep to collect discahrging product until corrections can be made.
East swale (stormwater drainage feature of pad)- Free product remains
present. Area drains to ST#1. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of
oil. Because this swale drains to a sediment trap that has been plugged and
should not readily discharge, flushing of this swale was designated as a
secondary priority.
East Sediment Trap (ST2) - Pond/trap receives storm water from pad.
Pond had retained substantial product and was found to discharge with rain/
fluid input. Pump out of pond was initially conducted with smaller pumps, and
was switched to pumping by vacuum truck on May 11 to better collect product and
contaminated water and sediment. Vaccuming of sediment was completed on May 11,
and bentonite pads were installed and hydrated to plug the outfall. Water/product
that accumulates in the basin will be pumped out. Some free product remains
present.
Sediment Trap #2 Outfall
channel (tributary to east lateral) - Free product remains present. Area was impacted
by spray and overland flow of oil. Flow from this drainage feature eventually
drains to Containment Dam 1. Vegetation clearing is complete. On May 12, final
preparations will be made to commence flushing.
East lateral channel
(tributary to unnamed creek) - Free product remains present. Area was impacted by spray
and overland flow of oil. This tributary drains to Containment Dam 1.
Vegetation clearing was completed by May 10. Flushing is planned for May 12 to
direct product down to Containment Dam #1.
West Sediment Trap (ST1) - Pond/trap receives storm water
from pad. Pond had retained substantial product and was found to discharge with
rain/fluid input. Pump out of pond was initially conducted with smaller pumps,
and was switched to pumping by vacuum truck on May 10 to better collect product
and contaminated water and sediment. Vaccuming of sediment was completed on May
10, and bentonite pads were installed and hydrated to plug the outfall.
Water/product that accumulates in the basin will be pumped out. Some free
product remains present.
West swale (stormwater
drainage feature of pad)-
Free product remains present. Area drains to ST#2. Area was impacted by spray
and overland flow of oil. A test flush was conducted on May 9 and determined to
have been successful. Because this swale drains to a sediment trap that has
been plugged and should not readily discharge, flushing of this swale was
designated as a secondary priority.
Sediment Trap #1 Outfall
channel (tributary to unnamed creek) - Free product remains present. Area was impacted by
spray and overland flow of oil. Flow from this drainage feature drains to
Containment Dam 1. Vegetation clearing is complete. Flushing was
conducted on May 11. Further assessment of next steps is needed.
West lateral (tributary to unnamed creek) - Free product remains present. Area was
impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. Vegetation clearing was completed by May 10. Flushing and washigng
were conducted on May 11 to direct product down to Containment Dam #1.
Additional flushing is planned for May 12.
Unnamed tributary (Area between confluence with west lateral and dam 1)-
Segment remains heavily oiled. Crews continue work to remove debris. Flushing
of the creek was attempted at 1515 to direct product down to Containment Dam #1 on
May 8 and proved to be promising. All agree that this approach seems
to be reasonable to direct the material to the containment
dam. Further flushing will be commenced in an upstream to downstream
fashion.
Containment Dam 1- Significant free product remains present upstream of
dam. The containment dam was re-enforced on the downstream side on May 9.
It was redesigned to withstand a 2 year flood, and a siphon pipe was installed,
on an angle, as a contingency overflow for a large rainfall event. The
responsible party currently plans to pump and haul out all water and product
that accumulates behind the dam, and after limited treatment, reuse some of
this water for flushing/ high volume low pressure washing. On May 10, a rope
skimmer was installed, and appears to be effectively removing some oil from the
water surface although some difficulties with pumps occurred. On May 11, the a
new pump was installed, and effectively pumped oil from the skimmer up to a
frac tank for storage. On May 11, containment booms (hard) were installed along
the banks upstream of the dam to help direct oil and protect banks.
On May 10, a seep was discovered on the downstream side of the dam that is
carrying product into the sump. The source of this product is currently be investigated.
It may be product that was trapped under the dam during construction, it may be
migrating through subsurface gravel or bedrock fractures. the seep is not
contributing a huge amount of oil to the sump at this time. The sump is being
pumped continuously and monitored 24 hours a day. State geologists will be on
site on May 12 to assess this.
Downstream of Dam 1 to
Dam 2 on Cow Run - Some absorbents remain
in place in this section. Over this reporting period more very clear clean oil
appeared in this section, possibly due to oil mobilization during channel
opening, or possibly due to fractured bedrock as detailed above. 7 containment
points were established with absorbent boom and pads. These are being monitored
closely.
Containment Dam 2- During this reporting period, a crew
continued to maintain this dam. Absorbent and containment boom are in place
upstream of the dam, but do not appear to be accumulating product.
General Notes
Accessibility and topography have impeded response operations.
Flushing and targeted high volume low pressure washing techniques will likely
be applied throughout the impacted riverine waterbodies, to direct product down
to Containment Dam #1.
2. EPA Air Monitoring
Benzene concentrations remained low on the pad and in the work areas during this reporting period. Offsite perimeter monitoring for benzene is also conducted daily. There were no off site detections during this reporting period. A summary of current benzene monitoring results and a map of monitoring locations are available in the documents section of the website.
Elevated VOCs were detected frequently at various locations around the site, but levels are quite variable, and also very low frequently. VOCs ranged up to 100 ppm near Containment Dam 1.
Gamma radiation has remained at background levels during this reporting period.
3. EPA Water Sampling
Water
Sampling results that have been received back to date do not show detections above levels of concern downstream of Containment Dam 2 for any parameters.
4. PDC Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT)
PDC is completing SCAT surveys of riverine waterbodies before and after flushing/ high pressure low volume rinsing when possible.
5. PDC Air Monitoring
PDC is conducting roving air monitoring throughout the site making one rotation every 30 minutes, and working with an industrial hygenist, has established the following action levels:
VOCs- at 70 ppm upgrade to Level C PPE; at 700 ppm upgrade to Level B PPE
Benzene - at 2.5 ppm upgrade to Level C PPE
LEL - at 10% evacuate area
H2S - evacuate area if detected
6. Weather
During this reporting period, according to weather.com data for Beverly Ohio, 0.17 inches of rainfall was received on May 9, and 0.20 on May 10.
There is a chance of additional rain predicted for the next 5 days.
2.1.2 Response Actions to Date
EPA is on site overseeing the response by the responsible party. Two containment dams and one pumping basin have been constructed to keep oil contained. Numerous other activities are ongoing and are detailed above.
5325 barrels of oil/fluid/water mixture was estimated to have been recovered as of 1600 on May 5. This number was revised by PDC on May 9 to 3125 barrels (131250 gallons), as they stated that the 5325 reported originally inadvertently included the 1800 bbls of mud that
had been made up and remained in storage.
2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
A Notice of Federal Interest was issued to PDC Energy on 5/5/2014.
2.1.4 Progress Metrics
| Waste Stream |
Medium |
Quantity |
Manifest # |
Treatment |
Disposal |
| Oil / Fluid / Water Mixture |
Liquid |
3125 barrels (131250 gallons)
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