Photos courtesy of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Spill Prevention and Response. For details about the spill, go to their web site via the link at the bottom of this story.
2020 VMT Admin Sump Incident Fact Sheet 12
from https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/ppr/spill-information/response/2020/02-vmt-sump-oily-water-spill/fact-sheet-12/
- As of 4 p.m. Sunday, approximately 771 barrels (32,382 gallons) of water/oil mix has been recovered. Crews are measuring and analyzing the composition of the recovered liquids, a process known as metering.
- Crews have metered approximately three-quarters of those recovered emulsified liquids.
- From those recovered volumes metered so far, approximately 12 barrels (511 gallons) of oil was recovered.
- Metering work continues and the exact volume of oil spilled remains undetermined. Total deceased birds remain at 4.
- One minor first aid injury was reported on Sunday. The individual was treated and returned to work.
- A Sunday afternoon overflight of the work area and Port Valdez did not find any sheen outside of the boomed response areas.
- Crews continue excavation and investigation of the flow path and primary entry point where oily water is making its way into Port Valdez in the vicinity of the VMT small boat harbor. This is a rocky area near the low tide line, which indicates a flow path below ground.
- Snow removal crews cleared an area of interest near the Oil Spill Response Building and investigation continues in the area.
- Crews continue to excavate uphill from the building to create a potential collection point and prevent more oily water from entering the area of the VMT small boat harbor.
- Skimmers continue making progress and overflights confirm that the impacted area is decreasing.
- This area has been boomed since Sunday, April 12, and the boom has contained the spill almost entirely since then.
- Excavation is also taking place at other areas on Terminal, including around the source of the spill, a sump located about a quarter-mile uphill from the VMT small boat harbor, which has been isolated and secured since Monday.
- More than 230 people are involved in the response, locally and around the state
- Response crews continue to monitor and maintain the boom systems.
For information and updates on the response, visit www.alyeskaresponds.com and check back to this ADEC site.
J4/12 ASSOCIATED PRESS JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of gallons of oily water have been contained after a spill near the Valdez Marine Terminal’s small boat harbor, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company workers reported the spill at the end of the trans-Alaska pipeline just after 8 p.m. Sunday.
Photo credit: Alyeska Pipeline
Photo date: Tuesday, April 14, 2020
The pipeline was operating normally following the spill, the conservation department said.
An incident management team had recovered about 13,000 gallons (49,210 liters), of oily water as of Tuesday morning, said Alyeska, which operates the pipeline.
“Responders were on scene within the hour and continue response activities including deployment of sorbents sweeps, sausage boom and containment boom,” Alyeska said in a statement Tuesday.
Photo credit: ADEC
Photo date: April 14, 2020
Fishing vessels and aircraft were monitoring the water in a 30-by-30 foot (9-by-9 meter) contained area.
Most of the sheen was contained behind the berthing area with booms and other measures, the state said.
An preliminary report by the conservation department suggested the spill originated in a sump pit.
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“The cause is under investigation, but early indicators suggest that the crude/water mixture was leaking from a sump that overflowed,” the environmental conservation department said in a statement Monday.
The sump is a drain that “can collect rainwater from process areas, secondary containment, parking lot, etc.,” Alyeska spokeswoman Michelle Egan said.
The sump is not necessarily associated with an oil-storage tank, she said.
Most of the sheen was contained behind the berthing area with booms and other measures, the state said.
The amount of oil released was not immediately known, Alyeska said.
A small amount of oil can create a widespread sheen. Egan declined comment on its possible size.
“I’m not going to characterize it one way or another until we get more information,” Egan said. “Any time we have sheen on the water, that’s a very big deal to us.”
https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/ppr/spill-information/response/2020/02-vmt-sump-oily-water-spill/
