Earth Watch Report - Hazmat
James
Holland, hydrologist/geologist with the Kanab Field Office of the
United States Bureau of Land Management, examines an oil-covered rock
with the Forest Service's Joe Harris and BLM's Sarah Schlanger in Little
Valley Wash in the Upper Valley region of Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument
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| Description |
| Hikers
exploring the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern
Utah last week happened upon an oil spill over four miles in length in
an area known as Little Valley Wash. The spill is thought to be old,
based on the dense, asphalt-like consistency of the oil, said Larry
Crutchfield, Bureau of Land Management public affairs specialist. And
it's a good thing the oil is so thick, he added, because that means the
spill will stay put for a while. "The good news is that there is no oil
actively moving in the wash," Crutchfield said. Because the oil in the
wash is nearly as thick as asphalt, he added, it is not posing an
immediate threat to surrounding areas. However, he said there is
evidence suggesting it did move last September when massive monsoon
rains created a violent flash flood in the wash. The area typically does
receive some rain in the springtime, he said, but not nearly enough to
fill the part of the wash where the oil is, which is far upstream. The
BLM isn't taking any chances, however, and plans to secure the area with
booms and other equipment to help protect monument resources and water
sources. Although preliminary reports last week suggested the spill may
have originated from a leak that occurred last month in a nearby
pipeline operated by Citation Oil, Crutchfield said the oil found in the
wash is very unlikely to have come from a recent leakage."The
Citation oil line did spring a pinhole-sized leak," Crutchfield said.
That leak spilled about 10 barrels of oil before it was discovered and
patched last month. The oil that flows through the pipeline has a low
viscosity and would be very fluid, he said �" not the thick, viscous,
asphalt-like substance found in the wash. The oil in the wash appears to
have been there for some time, he said. In fact, investigators
currently suspect the spill had been buried beneath the wash until it
was exposed by a violent flash flood last fall, which explains why the
spill hadn't been reported in previous years. When asked who might have
buried the spill, Crutchfield said it's quite possible that it was
covered by sediment deposited by an earlier flood. There is no way of
knowing for sure before BLM investigators complete their assessment of
the incident. "We have an idea of where the oil may have come from, but
it would be entirely inappropriate for me to speculate at this point,"
Crutchfield said. The first priority, he said, is to assess the danger
that the oil poses to the surrounding environment. "The important thing
at this stage is that we are taking action,” he said. “Citation Oil is
taking action. We are working together to figure out what exactly
happened." |
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Massive oil spill discovered at Grand Staircase National Monument
Monday, 03-31-2014, 08:30 PM
Written by Michael Flynn
Hikers
exploring the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern
Utah last week happened upon an oil spill over four miles in length in
an area known as Little Valley Wash.
The spill is thought to be
old, based on the dense, asphalt-like consistency of the oil, said Larry
Crutchfield, Bureau of Land Management public affairs specialist. And
it's a good thing the oil is so thick, he added, because that means the
spill will stay put for a while.
"The good news is that there is
no oil actively moving in the wash," Crutchfield said. Because the oil
in the wash is nearly as thick as asphalt, he added, it is not posing an
immediate threat to surrounding areas. However, he said there is
evidence suggesting it did move last September when massive monsoon
rains created a violent flash flood in the wash.
The area
typically does receive some rain in the springtime, he said, but not
nearly enough to fill the part of the wash where the oil is, which is
far upstream. The BLM isn't taking any chances, however, and plans to
secure the area with booms and other equipment to help protect monument
resources and water sources.
Read More Here
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Published: Friday, April 4 2014 7:46 p.m. MDT
James
Holland, hydrologist/geologist with the Kanab Field Office of the
federal Bureau of Land Management, left, points to asphalt-like patches
of oil in Little Valley Wash in the Upper Valley region of Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument near Escalante on Friday, April 4,
2014. Holland, along with Joe Harris of the Forest Service, Mark Bing,
central regional manager of Citation Oil and Gas Corp., Terry Tolbert,
wildlife biologist, and Julie Sueker of Arcadis Environmental Consulting
Group, hiked the 4-mile stretch of the wash where the oil was
discovered.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
ESCALANTE,
Garfield County — Remnants from at least one large oil spill found by
hikers on March 23 in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has
officials wondering how and when the damage occurred.
As many as 4
miles in the Little Valley Wash now contain the aftermath of the spill,
with about 1.5 miles of 6-inch thick oil flows contained in the mostly
dry stream bed. Bureau of Land Management officials who manage the
monument say it's likely the leak happened decades ago.
BLM
officials hypothesize that the spill became encased in sediment deposits
over time, making it difficult or impossible to see in most areas. Last
September, intense floods washed down the drainage, possibly unburying
the oil deposit and carrying parts of it downstream for 2.5 miles.
Boulders
and tree trunks in the drainage now demonstrate the depth of the
initial oil flows, with steady black lines as many as 2 feet above the
stream bed. Black splotches are found in other areas, with vegetation
collecting the oil as it flowed along with the flood waters.
Long stretches of oil patches not mixed with sediment have liquified in regions exposed to the sun.
"It's not what we want to see here," associate monument manager Sarah Schlanger said during an examination of the area Friday.
Read More Here
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