Coast Guard, partner agencies respond to reports of 2 oil sheens in Vallejo
Sep 21st, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard and partner agencies continue to respond to reports of two oil sheens on the water in the vicinity of the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery and northern San Pablo Bay Wednesday. At approximately 7:40 a.m., the Coast Guard launched a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco to conduct a first light overflight of the area. The aircrew identified a sheen just over a mile long by 40 yards wide on the water in the northern San Pablo Bay area. Coast Guard and California Office of Spill Prevention and Response pollution investigators are taking samples to assist in determining the source.
A second sheen was identified during the Coast Guard overflight near Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery Marine Terminal. Several vessels and skimmers are on scene conducting containment and cleanup operations and 1,000-feet of boom has been placed on the water surrounding the refinery. No oiled wildlife has been observed at this time.
The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has been opened for $25,000.
Coast Guard pollution investigators have not determined the source of either sheen.
An urgent marine information broadcast is being issued to local mariners. Please contact the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Command Center at (415) -399-7300 to report any oil sheen or other pollution.
For additional information regarding the sheen reported Tuesday evening in northern San Pablo Bay, read below.
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Coast Guard, local agencies respond to reports of strong oil smell in Vallejo
Sep 21st, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO — Coast Guard and local agencies responded to reports of a smell of oil and sheen on the water near Rodeo and Vallejo Tuesday evening. At approximately 8 p.m., Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a call from Vessel Traffic Service of the Ferry Intintoli reporting a strong smell of oil while transiting near Rodeo and Vallejo and received further information of sheen on the water reported by Coast Guard Station Vallejo crewmembers and other ferry vessels. Coast Guard and California Fish and Wildlife pollution investigators responded as well and were sent to various locations in the area.
The Coast Guard launched a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco to conduct an over flight of the area. The aircrew did not locate any sheen. They were scheduled to conduct a first light helicopter search Wednesday morning. Coast Guard boat crews searched the waters near Vallejo and Mare Island and did not locate any sheen as well.
It’s not known if the sheen reported on the water is related to the strong odor in the area that prompted local officials to issue a shelter in place order.
An urgent marine information broadcast is being issued to local mariners. Please contact the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Command Center at (415) -399-7300 to report any oil sheen or other pollution.
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Coast Guard Locates Oil Sheens in San Pablo Bay After Odor Sickens Vallejo Residents
A shelter in place was lifted Wednesday morning after reports of a strong smell sent multiple people to the hospital
By Riya Bhattacharjee and Wire Reports
San Jose, CA
Two large oil sheens on San Pablo Bay Wednesday morning, after a mysterious odor prompted shelter-in-place orders in Vallejo Tuesday night, might have come from a refinery tanker, authorities said. Terry McSweeney reports. (Published Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016)
Two large oil sheens on San Pablo Bay Wednesday morning, after a mysterious odor prompted shelter-in-place orders in Vallejo Tuesday night, appear to have come from a Phillips refinery tanker in Rodeo, authorities said.
A spokesperson for the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery Marine Terminal in Rodeo said a tanker berthed at the marine terminal might have released the crude oil. A light, oily sheen was discovered near the refinery around 8 a.m. Wednesday. The refinery notified the National Response Center and the U.S. Coast Guard and temporarily shut down operations.
The Rodeo refinery supplies gas and diesel throughout California at Phillips 66 gas stations.
By Wednesday night, Coast Guard officials could no longer detect the sheens on the water.
"It may have sunk, we don't know," said Coast Guard Lt. Megan Mervar. "There are a lot of unknowns. But dissipation is one possibility. If it was a lighter oil, it could've just evaporated."
Officials have not said whether the oil sheen is linked to the mysterious odor that sickened dozens of people in Vallejo on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard crews earlier Wednesday laid down a thousand-foot boom to contain oil surrounding the Yamuna Spirit tanker.
Scientist Ian Wren of the San Francisco Baykeeper said his environmental advocacy group is working closely with the Coast Guard.
"The community is watching, and the local environmental watchdog is kind of making sure that adequate cleanups are proceeding," Wren said. "But they are reluctant to actually prescribe blame at this point."
It's unclear what caused the spill or how much has spread, but Wren says there will be an impact.
"Yeah, fish, wildlife, sea birds, as well as marine mammals might be affected," he said. "We don't know if it's crude oil versus bunker fuel from the vessel."
The exact volume of material released is being determined and the incident remains under investigation, the refinery spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, there have been no injuries associated with the release so far and health impacts to the community are not anticipated.
The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit searched through Environmental Protection Agency records and found the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo did not comply with federal standards for the disposal of solid and hazardous waste for the past three years. An inspection report from March reveals the refinery was operating in significant violation, which is the agency’s most serious designation and shows the refinery poses a severe level of environmental threat.
The shelter-in-place in Vallejo was lifted around 6 a.m. Wednesday after reports of a strong smell sent multiple people to hospitals in Vallejo and Fairfield Tuesday night.
Late Tuesday night, Coast Guard Lt. Steven Dross said a sheen had been confirmed on the water in a number of mostly connected locations in and around Vallejo as well as San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Straits.
Ferry service between Vallejo and San Francisco was delayed Wednesday morning because of the oil spill investigation in San Francisco Bay.
The Vallejo Fire Department said it received more than 500 calls reporting a strong odor in the Glen Cove and Beverly Hills Park neighborhoods in South Vallejo Tuesday night. Firefighters reportedly were able to rule out natural gas and refinery emissions as the source of the odor.
Michelle Norris sheltered in place at her Crockett home, a few hundred yards from the ship and refinery. She said at her house, strong odors are not unusual.
"Quite often, I smell strange things," Norris said. "I never know what to worry about and what's just normal."
Vallejo fire officials said local hospitals reported multiple patients as a result of the mysterious odor. Patients complaining of burning in their throats and noses arrived at Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo, Kaiser Vallejo Medical Center and Northbay Medical Center in Fairfield.========
Tanker berthed at Phillips 66 refinery may be cause of sheen in San Pablo Bay
Officials are investigating to determine whether an odor in Vallejo is connected to a 40-yard sheen that was located in the northern part of the San Pablo Bay Wednesday morning. (KGO-TV)
By Amy Hollyfield
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 01:38PM
VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- The U.S. Coast Guard located oil sheen coming from a tanker berthed at the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery Marine Terminal on San Pablo Avenue in Rodeo Wednesday morning.
The oil sheen could be seen in the northern part of San Pablo Bay, which caused massive delays to ferry service.
Phillips 66 officials released a statement saying: "At 8:00 a.m., a light oily sheen was discovered at the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery Marine Terminal. At the time, a tanker was berthed at the marine terminal. Our internal response team immediately responded to the incident and we notified the National Response Center (NRC) and the United States Coast Guard. Operations at the marine terminal have been temporarily shut down and we are working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies regarding the response. The exact volume of material released is still being determined, and the cause of the incident is under investigation. At this time, there have been no injuries associated with the release and there is no anticipated health impact to the community. The safety of the community, the environment and our people are of utmost importance to our company and these priorities will guide our efforts as we work with the agencies on the response."
Officials said the oil sheen may be connected to an odor that hospitalized dozens in Vallejo Tuesday night.
The smell seemed to be most concentrated on the southern side of Vallejo in the Beverly Hills Park and Glen Cove Park neighborhoods.
The odor can no longer be detected in Vallejo. Meanwhile officials are investigating the sheen on the water.
City leaders are getting a lot of calls from residents in Vallejo wondering what the smell was. Officials had to bring in crews to handle at least 800 phone calls that came in from concerned residents. A shelter-in-place order for the smell was lifted early Wednesday morning.
Vallejo residents have been told by officials it's safe to leave the house and school is back in session. But ferry service was unexpectedly shut down.
Many people were surprised the rotten smell and sheen led to ferry service disruption.
"It was strong, it burned your nose. It smelled like bad rotten eggs, I got home and it was all in my place," a Vallejo resident said.
Officials said the sheen and smell were reported at the same time. "They do seem to be tied, in fact they happened at the same time. Again with the sheen being a mile long and 40 yards wide, it seems like it's more than just a coincidence that they occurred at the same time," Vallejo Fire Department spokesperson Kevin Brown said.
Fire officials don't think the source of the smell is in Vallejo. Their gas detectors didn't pick up the trace of gas in the air and nothing was reported from the refineries. "We're continuing to check in with them, but so far they've reported there's been no burn offs and that there is nothing coming from them," Brown said.
Officials said ferry service has resumed in Vallejo.