Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 21, 2007
4. Water Quality -
Big West leak: Source proves elusive
Search complicated by past contamination
BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
The source of an underground oil leak at the Big West of California refinery that has seeped to a water table 50 feet below the ground along
Refinery operators have examined and tested most of the underground pipelines in the area near the spill and found no leaks.
Today, the company will drill holes in the ground in an effort to locate the source and extent of the release, said Bill Chadick, Big West's health, safety and environmental director.
The accumulation of a substance thought to be crude was first noticed by Big West in a groundwater monitoring well about two weeks ago.
The company notified the state of the situation last week, reporting that 1,000 barrels of oil were believed to have been released from an underground source.
Local environmental health officials have said the leak is not a threat to public water supplies.
About 30 percent of the refinery's equipment has been shut down since Friday to examine pipelines, which were initially thought to be the source of the release.
The company conducted pressure tests on most of the lines near the contaminated well this week. It also excavated the lines, buried 6 feet underground, to physically examine them.
Refinery equipment taken offline during that time is expected to start up today when pressure tests conclude, Chadick said.
The refinery has been ordered to provide daily updates on the situation to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Bert Van Voris, supervising engineer with the water quality control board, said Big West could potentially face fines for the release.
The board determines fines based on how quickly companies respond, the voluntary actions companies have taken and what kind of harm releases cause, he said.
"I think their response since last Friday has been very responsible but there was some concern ... that the response up to that point hadn't been rapid enough, that when they saw the initial signs they should have reacted earlier," he said.
The ground beneath the refinery has a history of contamination from previous operators.
A plume of diesel exists under about 70 percent of the refinery's more than 600 acres, Chadick said.
Former operators were also responsible for past spills of gasoline, MTBE and other forms of petroleum that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Those spills are being remediated but contamination still remains in the groundwater.
Remnants of that pollution is believed to have mixed with oil from the ongoing release at the facility. That's made it difficult for officials to identify with certainty what type of material is being leaked, adding to the difficulty of locating the source.
Van Voris said the groundwater beneath the refinery is relatively stable and no major pumping of water for public use takes place nearby.
"This refinery like most refineries in the country has had leaks and spills over its lifetime," Chadick said.
To avoid future problems, pipelines for the company's proposed expansion of the facility would be built above ground, he said.#
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/170150.html
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