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PDC Energy Oil Spill

All POL/SITREP's for this site PDC Energy Oil Spill
Beverly, OH - EPA Region V
POLREP #5
Progress
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
PDC Energy Oil Spill - Removal Polrep

EPA Emergency Response

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region V

Subject: POLREP #5
Progress
PDC Energy Oil Spill
Z5NH
Beverly, OH
Latitude: 39.6159881 Longitude: -81.6669809


To:
From: Betsy Nightingale, On-Scene Coordinator
Date: 5/13/2014
Reporting Period: 5/12/14-5/13/14

1. Introduction
  1.1 Background
   
Site Number: Z5NH    Contract Number:  
D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date:  
Response Authority: OPA    Response Type: Emergency
Response Lead: PRP    Incident Category: Removal Action
NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit:
Mobilization Date: 5/4/2014    Start Date: 5/4/2014
Demob Date:      Completion Date:  
CERCLIS ID:    RCRIS ID:
ERNS No.:    State Notification:
FPN#: E14519    Reimbursable Account #:

1.1.1 Incident Category

Emergency Response - OPA

1.1.2 Site Description

The site is a wet gas/natural gas oil production well (Well Site Palmer 44-20) north of Beverly, Ohio.  Wet gas is a mix of crude oil and condensate.

On Sunday May 4, 2014, PDC Energy reported a 100 barrel spill of drilling mud (75% synthetic oil blend) into an unnamed creek near Beverly, OH. On May 9, PDC provided a revised figure of 366 barrels (15372 gallons) of hydrocarbons are estimated to have been released.   In addition to the drilling mud, an unknown amount of wet gas was also released. The spill is believed to have been a result of a mechanical failure of a well head during a horizontal drilling operation intended for hydraulic fracturing in the Utica Shale formation to extract wet gas and natural gas.  Upon discovery of the discharge, drilling operations were stopped and PDC Energy implemented their emergency response plan. The incident management specialist contractor, Wild Well Control (WWC), was notified of the situation and mobilized to the discharge site. WWC arrived on site within six hours of mobilization.

The oil production well pad is situated on a man-made earthen platform, with steep embankments to the north, east, and south. (Photos of well pad engineering design plans are available in the website documents section.) As a result of the well head failure, drilling fluid discharged out of the well boring and onto the surface of the drilling pad and down gradient into storm-water control and naturally occurring drainage features adjacent to the north, east, & south perimeters of the well pad and to an unnamed creek downstream of the ditches.  The unnamed creek flows for ¾ mile before leading to Cow Run Creek, and Cow Run Creek flows for a mile before leading to Olive Creek.  Olive Creek then flows for a mile before meeting with the Muskingum River a tributary of the Ohio River.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources and PDC are investigating the cause of the failure of the well head and release.  In addition to the drilling mud and wet gas, natural gas was released causing an explosive atmosphere leading to dangerous working conditions and the evacuation of 7 residents from 3 homes adjacent to the site. The release was stopped and the evacuation was subsequently lifted. PDC does not anticipate any further releases.



1.1.2.1 Location

1010 Center Bend Rd
Beverly, Morgan County, Ohio

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

Oil has been released into an unnamed creek that is a tributary to the Muskingum River, a navigable waterway. 

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results



2. Current Activities
  2.1 Operations Section
    2.1.1 Narrative

Please see earlier POLREPs for information prior to this reporting period.

Incident Command Structure (ICS) Forms 202, 207 and 214 continue to be utilized each operational period (currently 24 hour operational period).

2 members of the USCG Atlantic Strike Team arrived on site on May 12 to assist with clean up oversight.

1. Weather
According to the National Weather Service, in the early morning of May 12, Beverly received 1.1 inches of rain (a 1 year flood for the Dam 1 watershed). The impacts of this rain are described below. 

There is a chance of additional rain predicted for the next 5 days, with strong heavy storms predicted Tuesday night (0.5 inches), Wednesday afternoon (0.5 -0.75 inches predicted), and Thursday (1 inch predicted). 

2. 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 12-13, 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. 4 catch basins are located on the pad. Catch basin pumpout is ongoing, and catch basins are being kept pumped down 24 hours a day to reduce discharges from the pad to the sedimentation basins. The pad is drained by a subsurface french drain system that drains to the catch basins. Some surface flow also drains to catch basins, while in other areas, surface flow drains through swales to the sedimentation 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 13, work began to plug catch basin outlets, and install more permanent pumping systems. This work will continue tomorrow.

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 discharging product until corrections can be made.

The May 12 storm flushed some oil from the pad, but extensive oil is still present on the surface and subsurface. 

East 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. 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. Plans are to pump out water/product that accumulates in the basin, however the storm on May 12 overwhelmed the ST2 and water and product overtopped the plugged basin and flowed to the ST2 outfall channel. On May 12 and 13, water was pumped down, and ST2 stopped discharging. Some free product remains present in ST2 (and upstream).

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. Flushing is planned after west side channels have been completed. 

East lateral channel (tributary to unnamed creek) - Segment remains oiled, with free product present in pockets, and extensive sheen.  This tributary drains to Containment Dam 1. Vegetation clearing was completed by May 10. Flushing that was planned for May 12 was postponed as the May 12 storm impacts were dealt with across the site. Flushing is planned after west side channels have been completed. 

West Sediment Trap (ST1) -  Pond/trap receives storm water from pad. Plans are to pump out water/product that accumulates in the basin, however the storm on May 12 overwhelmed the ST1 and water and product overtopped the plugged basin and flowed to the ST1 outfall channel. On May 12 and 13, water was pumped down, and ST1 stopped discharging. Some free product remains present in ST2 (and upstream).

West swale (stormwater drainage feature of pad)- Free product remains present. Area drains to ST#2. 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) - Segment remains oiled, with free product present in pockets, and extensive sheen. Area was impacted by spray and overland flow of oil. Vegetation clearing was completed by May 10. Flushing and washing were conducted on May 11 to direct product down to Containment Dam #1. Additional high volume low pressure washing was conducted on May 13. 

Unnamed tributary (Area between confluence with west lateral and dam 1)‎- Segment remains oiled, with free product present in pockets, and extensive sheen. Debris clearing is complete.  Flushing of the creek was conducted on May 8 to direct product down to Containment Dam #1.  Further flushing will be commenced in an upstream to downstream fashion. 

Containment Dam 1‎- The majority of free product that had collected behind this dam so far was removed on May 13 with the rope skimmer. As additional oil migrates from the upstream tributaries it continue to be collected at this dam. This dam withstood the 1 year flood event that occurred on May 12, but did discharge through the angled overflow pipe. Samples collected periodically during the discharge did not show visual evidence of oil being present in the discharge. The dam was further reinforced on May 13 to prepare for the predicted upcoming storms. In preparation for the rain, 2 large (8) inch pumps were installed at the dam, to supplement the existing 4 inch pumps currently in use to pump water from the dam to frac tanks. A pump management company was hired to ensure that all pumps function effectively. This dam is being manned 24 hours a day to ensure that water levels are kept at a manageable level. 

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 were on site on May 12 to assess this, and continue to monitor and assess the situation.

Downstream of Dam 1 to Dam 2 on Cow Run - Some absorbents remain in place in this section. Over this reporting period clear clean oil continued to be observed 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- This dam did not withstand the 1.1 inch rain storm that occurred on May 12. US and Ohio EPA OSCs arrived at this dam shortly after the rain to find that it had blown out and the storm had dislodged the containment boom that had been installed immediately upstream of the dam. The OSCs reinstalled the containment boom and two additional absorbent boom collection points on May 12.

On May 13, an additional containment boom was installed near the mouth of Cow Run, just upstream of the Olive Green River. The former dam was removed, and several concrete blocks were placed across the stream in an effort to manage water flow and boom.   

The booms in place at this dam do not currently 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. Rain will likely also help to move product through the system to the containment points. 


3. 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 1.8 ppm near Containment Dam 1.

Gamma radiation has remained at background levels during this reporting period. 

4. 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. 

5. 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.

6. 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

7. Waste Generation/Storage
A large amount of waste management is ongoing on site. EPA and USCG are doing periodic passes by waste storage areas to check for leaks or other concerns. 

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.

PDC is working to generate an updated total fluid recovered to date. PDC does state that they recovered 2000 barrels of fluid on May 12, and 2900 barrels on May 13th (as of 1500).


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.  


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 Date Treatment Disposal
 Oil / Fluid / Water Mixture  Liquid  3125 barrels (131250 gallons)
 
 Total through May 9    
 Oil / Fluid / Water Mixture
 Liquid  2000 barrels  Collected on May 12    
  Oil / Fluid / Water Mixture
 Liquid  2900 barrels  Collected on May 13 by 3 PM    


  2.2 Planning Section
    2.2.1 Anticipated Activities

Continue cleanup of drill pad.

Continue work to permanently prevent further releases of product from the drill pad.

Continue oil recovery in creek, sediment ponds and drainage ditches.

Continue other planned activities as described in the operations section.


2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities

Air monitoring will be conducted sitewide. Water sampling is planned periodically as operational procedures/ situation changes. 


2.2.1.2 Next Steps

Plan for long term remediation. EPA has requested that PDC develop a plan detailing next steps that will be taken to prevent, monitor for and address further releases once the emergency phase of the cleanup has been completed.

2.2.2 Issues

Accessibility to impacted creek and environment. Storms. 

  2.3 Logistics Section
    Logistics are being managed by PDC.

  2.4 Finance Section
    No information available at this time.

  2.5 Other Command Staff
    No information available at this time.

3. Participating Entities
  3.1 Unified Command

EPA, Ohio EPA, PDC Energy

3.2 Cooperating Agencies

US Fish & Wildlife Service
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

4. Personnel On Site
  5/12/14
1 -  EPA OSC
2 - Tetra Tech START
1 - Ohio EPA OSC
2 - USCG Atlantic Strike Team 
75-100 - PDC Energy and contractors

5/13/14
1 -  EPA OSC
2 - Tetra Tech START
1 - Ohio EPA OSC
2 - USCG Atlantic Strike Team 
75-100 - PDC Energy and contractors

5. Definition of Terms
 
ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
BZ Breathing Zone
CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
CERCLIS Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System
DNR Department of Natural Resources
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ERNS Emergency Response Notification System
ERRS Emergency and Rapid Response Service
NG/M^3 nanograms per cubic meter
NCP National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NPL National Priorities List
NRC National Response Center
OEPA Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
ODH Ohio Department of Health
OSC On Scene Coordinator
PPE Personal Protective Equipment
PPM Parts per million
RCRIS Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information System
RP Responsible Party
RRT Regional Response Team
START Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team
US FWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service
USCG United States Coast Guard


6. Additional sources of information
  6.1 Internet location of additional information/report

www.epaosc.org/PDCEnergyBeverly

6.2 Reporting Schedule

Reports will be completed every few days, or as needed to communicate new information. 

Please check documents section for updated monitoring data and maps.

7. Situational Reference Materials
  No information available at this time.