FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Update #9 on Olympic Pipeline Gasoline Spill?
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Please see the most recent statement below from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington State Department of Ecology, and bp America regarding the Olympic pipeline gasoline spill on Highway 534 in Conway. Skagit County Department of Emergency Management is on site to support the response efforts.
The unified command leading the response to the release of gasoline from a vault associated with the Olympic Pipeline in Conway, Washington has the following updates on the progress of cleanup efforts:
?Teams have evaluated 7,349 meters (4.5 miles) of shoreline for potential spill impacts, and treatable trace impacts from the spill have been found on 562 meters (1/3 of a mile) of shoreline.
?Approximately 2,300 feet of boom are currently deployed in the response.
?Approximately 7,388 gallons of gasoline have been recovered to date. This number will be updated when the oily/water mixture being collected has sufficient time to settle and be measured. Approximately 25,000 gallons were released in the incident.
?Landowners identified as having a well along Hill Ditch are being asked if they want to have their wells tested. At this time nine such wells have been identified.
?Today, responders removed approximately 275 cubic yards of impacted soils near the source of the gasoline release. The soils were loaded onto trucks and will be transported to a hazardous waste facility in Arlington, Oregon, for treatment and disposal.
?Drone footage of the topsoil excavation at the incident scene is available at:
https://youtu.be/T9yuhV1USJI
https://youtu.be/wFor03mNJ5E
?Photos of topsoil excavation available here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecologywa/albums/72177720313417708/
Members of the public who come upon injured or deceased wildlife are asked not to touch or relocate affected wildlife and to call 1-800-22BIRDS.
Area residents who live along Hill Ditch may continue to see sheen as pockets of gasoline that were trapped by vegetation and other debris on the water and along the shoreline are released by wind, rain, and the natural rise and fall of stream levels. Spill response teams are locating and removing these pockets of gasoline.
General Information
The unified command consists of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Department of Ecology, Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, bp, Lummi Nation, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
A claims center has been established by the Olympic Pipeline. Please call 1-866-616-1558 to report any personal or property damages resulting from the spill.
One lane of SR 534 remains open as cleanup work proceeds. Traffic flaggers are assisting motorists through the area.
Air monitoring conducted at the direction of unified command continues to indicate no public health risk from gasoline fumes.
Status updates will be posted on Ecology?s incident webpage at http://tinyurl.com/svvp2p4s
The Federal Aviation Administration established a temporary flight restriction in the response area. More information is available at https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_3_6632.html
For further information on this incident, contact:
Scarlet Tang/Ecology: 206-920-2600
Bill Dunbar/EPA: 206-245-7452
Jenn Rogers/Skagit County: 360-630-6604
Tom Wolf/BP: 360-483-7438
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