MILLIKEN
— Industry crews have placed absorbent booms in the South Platte River
south of Milliken where at least 5,250 gallons of crude oil has spilled
from two tank batteries into the flood-swollen river.
The spill
from a damaged tank was reported to the Colorado Department of Natural
Resources Wednesday afternoon by Anadarko Petroleum, as is required by
state law.
State officials have responded to the spill site, which
is south of Milliken near where the St. Vrain River flows into the
South Platte.
Nearly 1,900 oil and gas wells in flooded areas of Colorado are shut, and
600 industry personnel are inspecting and repairing sites,
according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. Crews are inspecting
operations, conducting aerial and ground surveillance, identifying and
determining locations of possible impairments, the association said
Tuesday.
Anadarko, the second-largest operator in the operator in
the Denver-Julesburg Basin, has shut about 10 percent of its operations —
250 tank batteries and 670 wells.
In a statement, Anadarko said:
"To date, we are aware of two tank batteries that were damaged by flood
waters, and have associated light-oil releases. The releases occurred in
flood waters associated with the South Platte River and the St. Vrain
River, and we have reported them to the Colorado Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission, the National Response Center, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment.
Read More Here
*****************************************************************************
Colorado confirms more oil spills in flooded Weld County
Oil booms spread across a creek from an Anadarko site south of Milliken on Sept. 19, 2013. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
Posted: 09/20/2013 01:23:56 PM MDT
State
regulators on Friday confirmed more oil and gas spills totaling at
least 3,200 gallons in Colorado's flooded South Platte River valley and
estimated that two dozen storage tanks toppled in the past week's rush
of water and debris.
But it is uncertain whether all will be — or can be — cleaned up.
Five
spills in and along the river in Weld County currently are deemed
"notable," according to a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
update Friday afternoon.
Two spills were confirmed Friday along
the South Platte near Evans — 56 barrels, or about 2,400 gallons, from
an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. site and 21 barrels, or about 800 gallons,
from a Bayswater Exploration and Production
facility.Another new spill, reported by Anadarko, has not been measured, the commission update said.
The
company PDC also reported production equipment largely washed away at
an undetermined site. State authorities are working with PDC to
determine the amount of material that was on site before flooding began
on Sept. 12.
The latest spills were confirmed after aerial
surveys, COGCC's update said. They bring the documented total amount
released to more than 22,000 gallons.
Anadarko on Wednesday
reported two spills in Weld County. About 125 barrels — or 5,225 gallons
— spilled into the South Platte River near Milliken. A tank farm on the
St. Vrain River released 323 barrels — or 13,500 gallons — near
Platteville. Those two spills involved "condensate" — a mixture of oil
and water.
"The COGCC is tracking these reports and full
investigations will take place when access allows," state natural
resources spokesman Todd Hartman said in the update that was released in
response to media queries.
"Operators will be required to remediate environmental impacts where necessary," Hartman said.
Federal
Environmental Protection Agency authorities also are assessing damage
but are leaving it to COGCC to tally estimates of spilled material, EPA
spokesman Matthew Allen said.
"We're primarily serving a role to
assess and evaluate the sites that fall into our area of coverage, which
are spills to the rivers," he said. "The state of Colorado and FEMA are
the lead agencies on this response, and EPA will continue to work with
them to coordinate any clean up and remediation efforts related to
damages caused by the flooding as the water recedes and we're able to
fully evaluate the situation."
Colorado law requires oil and gas equipment in the floodplain to be anchored to resist flotation.
Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen said Anadarko tank moorings held at the Milliken and Platteville
Read More Here
*****************************************************************************
