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60,000 Gallons of Diesel Fuel Spills
Friday, April 30, 2004 (AP) Work crews clean up large diesel
spill in marsh near SF Bay TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer (04-30)
13:37 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Work crews scrambled
Friday to clean up as much as 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel
that spilled from a ruptured pipeline into an ecologically
sensitive marsh near San Francisco Bay. State
wildlife officials and local volunteers rushed to rescue birds
and other animals sickened by the accident in Suisun Marsh,
about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. Meanwhile,
government officials investigated why it took so long for Kinder
Morgan Energy Partners, the Houston firm that operates the
petroleum pipeline, to notify them about the problem.
The
ruptured pipe was discovered Tuesday evening but not reported
until Wednesday afternoon. Kinder Morgan employees
and contractors worked Friday to replace the damaged section
of the 14-inch-wide pipeline, which pumps petroleum from San
Francisco Bay area refineries to cities in northern California
and Nevada, said spokesman Jerry Engelhardt. The company expected
the pipeline to be operating again by Saturday. "We
expect little, if any, disruption," Engelhardt said. "There
is sufficient fuel to fill needs for a few days." Kinder
Morgan estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 gallons of
fuel leaked into the marsh, but wouldn't not know the exact
amount until the pipeline was repaired and refilled.
The
company is paying for the cleanup, but did not have an estimate
of the costs. It plans to send the damaged pipe to a laboratory
to determine why it ruptured. The cleanup effort
was being led by the U.S. Coast Guard, Kinder Morgan and the
company's contractors. Over the past two days, emergency response
workers used booms and absorbent pads to contain and soak up
the leaked fuel. Officials said the leak had been completely
contained. The U.S. Coast Guard's oil spill specialists
were assessing environmental damage on about 240 acres of the
55,000-acre Suisun Marsh, just north of Suisun Bay in the Sacramento
River Delta, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lexia Littlejohn. Littlejohn
said diesel fuel is lighter than most oils and quickly evaporates
in the sun. Still, it could take weeks before the spill is
completely cleaned up. "Sixty-thousand gallons
is definitely a lot of fuel, but I wouldn't classify it as
a major incident," Littlejohn said.
State
wildlife workers and volunteers searched for sick and injured
animals Friday. Several birds and small mammals were found
dead Thursday, and more were expected in the next few days,
said Patrick Foy, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish
and Game. Another DFG team used noisemakers to
prevent healthy birds from landing in contaminated areas, Foy
said. Suisun Marsh, an undeveloped wetlands region miles from
populated areas, is an important stopping point for migratory
birds.
Coast Guard and DFG officials said they
were investigating the incident and how it could have been
prevented. "We're trying to find out at what
point did they discover the spill itself and at what time did
they file the report," Foy said. Kinder Morgan
said its employees noticed a reduction in pipeline pressure
around 6 p.m. Tuesday and immediately shut it down. They didn't
locate the damaged section until about noon Wednesday when
the spill was spotted by helicopter. In July last
year, a Kinder Morgan underground pipeline in Tucson, Ariz.,
spilled an estimated 19,000 gallons of gasoline, which contaminated
groundwater and led to gasoline shortages.
Copyright 2004 AP
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