MARCH 2, 2015
JOHNSTOWN, COLORADO
Emergency workers responded Monday morning to an oil spill
near Johnstown and Interstate 25.
The spill happened at a site Synergy Resource Corp. operates
just east of I-25, about one-quarter mile north of Colorado Highway 60. Synergy
temporarily shutdown the site after the spill.
The company had crews working to clean up the area Monday. About a barrel of oil was spilled, according
to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Recent weather fluctuations created high pressure in an oil
line leading to the site. That pressure
caused a pop-up valve (a pressure relief valve) to rupture on one of the site's
oil and gas separator tanks, said Jerry Brian, director of environment, health
and safety for Synergy Resources Corp.
After the pop-up valve ruptured, yellowish crude oil spewed
into the air for about 20 minutes. The
oil landed on the site and fields to the south.
"The pop-valve operated exactly like it was designed
to,'' Brian said. If the valve didn't
pop-off, the pressure may have caused the tank to explode and "this would
be a much bigger problem."
Interstate 25 remained open through the incident, but the
east frontage road was closed while crews from Johnstown and surrounding
jurisdictions worked to contain the spill. Officials reported no ongoing threat
to public safety, and roads were reopened about noon.
To us, the oil release is much greater than 1 barrel (34 gallons). If that was the case, all these people would just be staying at such distance from the site as if something big happened; and the oil spilled would have covered a much smaller area that the one shown above.