Cleanup underway after 4,200 gallon Illinois pipeline spill
Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline confirmed that a crude oil release occurred on the morning of July 10 at its Pocahontas Pump Station near Mile Post 29, about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
The company said free oil and oil sheen at the nearby Silver Creek are being contained by protective boom to prevent it from reaching Highland Silver Lake.
“Plains sincerely regrets that this incident has occurred and apologizes for any inconvenience to area residents and impact to the environment,” the company said.
Third-party experts, overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, are performing air and water monitoring.
So far, results have shown no impact to the public water supply and no air reading that would impact public health.
A unified command has been established with participation from the EPA, the city of Highland and Plains.
In conjunction with the unified command, Plains has mobilized more than 120 response personnel, 2,700 feet of boom deployed, nine vacuum trucks, 17 response vessels and a helicopter for observation overflights.
“Plains’ objectives remain the safety of response personnel and residents as well as an effective response and remediation effort,” the company added.
The company estimates that about 4,200 gallons of crude spilled from the pipeline, although a “portion” of the oil was contained at the pump station.
In May, Plains operated pipeline Line 901 pipeline ruptured near Santa Barbara, California and released an estimated 101, 000 gallons of crude around Refugio State Beach.
Preliminary findings released by the Department of Transportation after the incident identified four areas of the ruptured line that showed “pipe anomalies requiring immediate investigation and remediation.”
The company also confirmed that it received a corrective action order for its Pocahontas Station from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Plains said it’s conducting an internal review into the incident and it remains “committed to implementing any changes to our procedures indicated by the findings.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: July 14, 2015 9:30:00 PM CDT
Plains Responds to Receipt of Pocahontas Station Corrective Action Order
We are engaged in an internal review into the factors that led to our recent incidents, and we are committed to implementing any changes to our procedures indicated by the findings. At Plains, safety is a core value and our maintenance and integrity programs have always been a top priority. We remain focused on continuous improvement in these areas.
From 2005 to 2014, Plains has invested $2.4 billion in maintenance and integrity programs as we have striven to achieve “Goal Zero,” the elimination of incidents. Last year alone, we invested more than $475 million in our maintenance and integrity programs.
Plains will fulfill all the steps outlined by the PHMSA Corrective Action Order for its Pocahontas Station. As a company, our focus remains on “Goal Zero,” and we will use the learnings from this and other incidents to get closer to achieving this goal.
For more information contact:
MP29 Response Information Center
As we have been saying all along, these pipeline companies are cheapskates who cut corners in order to meet their profit numbers. We do not see from these major oil spills that are reported the true nature of the problem with the way the pipelines are constructed and monitored and maintained. There are many-many other spills and leaks that do not get the public's attention. And some of these smaller leaks eventually become big massive spills.
But then the corrupt and incompetent PHMSA will do nothing about it. They are mostly a bureaucratic agency. A recent article we posted shows that many legislators do not like what PHMSA is doing.