In June 2010, a Chevron crude oil pipeline developed a hole and leaked nearly 1,000 barrels of oil into the Red Butte Creek in the foothills just west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to discovery by the Salt Lake City Fire Department and the pipeline operator, the oil flowed along the urban stream corridor, through residential property, the main city park, and multiple storm sewers, before reaching the Jordan River and heading toward the Great Salt Lake. This spill and the response occurred in the shadow of the Enbridge and BP spills, constraining the EPA/USCG oil spill response resources and simultaneously limiting public and media interest in the event to local stakeholders only. EPA spent six weeks with a skeleton crew in Unified Command, and without a Clean Water Act 311(c) order in place, directing and overseeing oil removal activities led by the Responsible Party before turning the site over to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Salt Lake City.
In July 2011, an ExxonMobil crude oil pipeline broke and leaked over 1,200 barrels of oil into the flooded Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana. The oil dispersed and flowed rapidly downstream, impacting thousands of acres of agricultural, public, and tribal land for over 50 miles as the water receded and all attempts at containment were foiled. The spill garnered national media and political interest, prompted significant involvement by senior EPA management, and utilized a much larger contingent of the EPA/USCG responders.
These two spills, similar in their scope and severity, highlight the two extremes of the EPA response spectrum and provide a backdrop for discussions about defining and achieving removal endpoints, the utility and pitfalls of Unified Command, the role of Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Teams in oil removal activities, the importance of public information and community involvement, the role of the Regional Emergency Operations Center, and how to achieve a “happy medium” in oil spill response.
