Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX), October 31, 2013
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
About 400 barrels of Texas-produced crude oil spilled on a ranch south of Smithville, contaminating a stock pond and causing the temporary shutdown of the pipeline. No injuries were reported.
The spill was discovered Monday afternoon said Jake Reint, spokesman for the Koch Pipeline Company. The spill, involving an estimated 16,800 gallons of crude oil, was contained and the cleanup is underway.
A swath of private land near Zapalac Road and Texas 95 just south of Smithville was affected. Several state and federal agencies including the Railroad Commission of Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were notified.
“The cause of the spill is under investigation,” Reint said. He said the spill was discovered Monday during a routine aerial patrol of the area. “The pipeline, which is about two to three feet underground, was shut down at pump stations nearby,” he said.
The crude oil was being pumped from the Dallas areas to refineries in Corpus Christi.
Koch has had other pipeline spills over the years. According to the records from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration with the U.S. Department of Transportation, 15 spills have occurred since December 2002, causing $4.5 million in damages. More than 2,600 barrels were spilled in those incidents. No injuries were reported. Those spills were caused by pipeline corrosion, equipment failure and excavation damage, according to records.
Ramona Nye, spokeswoman for the pipeline-regulating railroad commission, said crews from SWS Environmental in San Antonio began containing the Smithville spill on Monday night.
“They are on site cleaning a 200-foot by 400-foot area that resulted in pollution of a private stock pond and two additional overflow reservoirs on private land which do not lead to streams, rivers or sources of public water consumption,” she said.
Reint said crews worked “24/7 which included deploying booms to prevent oil from spreading in the water. The oil was pumped out, and we removed affected soil. We also built dirt berms to help with containment.”
He said his company was working with the property owner to make sure livestock received water. “And since we have so many trucks going in and out, we’re offering to put up the landowner in a hotel for the inconvenience,” Reint said.
Nye said railroad commission staff members monitored the cleanup work on Tuesday. She said the agency’s safety division will have to sign off on the work before the company is allowed restart the flow of crude oil.
Reint said officials do not know how long cleanup work would take.