Massive gasoline spill at Southern Ute reservation now seeping toward Animas River ...Middle East

Benzene from a 23,000-gallon gasoline spill is apparently creeping toward the Animas River, as Southern Ute tribal leaders say cleanup work by the state and the pipeline owner is moving too slowly and federal authorities have now warned they are watchdogging progress.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Thursday the pipeline spill is the sixth-largest it has handled in recent history, and Southern Ute environmental officials said some private wells were flooded by 12 feet of gasoline atop drinking water. The spill started Dec. 5 amid a checkerboard of private and tribal land inside the boundary of the Southern Ute Reservation, headquartered 20 miles away in Ignacio. 

The spill is atop Florida Mesa, hundreds of feet above the Animas River. Detectors are now finding benzene seepage in intermittent springbeds running down the hillsides toward the river, said Mitchell Dorsk, water quality remediation manager for the Southern Ute Tribe. 

Tribal leaders fear the benzene threatens thriving fishing and farming areas along the Animas, as farming and sod operations begin watering land on the mesa with flood and center-pivot irrigation. 

Benzene is a component of crude oil products and is a caustic short-term threat for headaches and nausea, and a longer-term exposure threat for leukemia and other conditions. 

“The tribe is being proactive, because we don’t think they move fast enough, so we’ve initiated our own attempt to locate seeps and get a baseline sample before the irrigation system comes up,” Dorsk said.

While the pipeline operator, Enterprise Products, is focused on bringing temporary cisterns and water filters to homeowners and other immediate damage, Dorsk added, “the tribe point of view is a little different, because we’re stewards of this land, and this is the Southern Ute peoples’ land. Damages to wildlife and vegetation, those are long-lasting impacts that are not being accounted for or respected by Enterprise.” 

Representatives of Enterprise responded to questions about the spill with a link to updates it gives in a community bulletin. Those bulletins are also available on a state website. The May update says, “Since the incident, Enterprise and its contractors have worked diligently with various stakeholder groups, including state and federal regulators, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and local residents, to address the issue fully, safely, and as quickly as possible.”

“Currently, there are no indications that the Animas River has been impacted or will be impacted in the future,” the state health department said in written responses to questions.

The company’s update says it is preparing drone flights over potential seepage areas and other subsequent rounds of monitoring. To date, the company said, it has analyzed weekly water samples at 36 residential wells, and taken more than 500 soil samples at more than 40 locations. “At any given time, there are approximately 30 staff and crew on site” in various specialties, Enterprise said.

Five private residential wells have tested above acceptable limits for gasoline chemicals, state officials said Thursday, out of 30 wells sampled so far. Company contractors have excavated thousands of yards of contaminated soil at the spill site, and are injecting air underground to help push gasoline toward extraction wells. 

Enterprise is a Houston-based, publicly traded partnership handling midstream distribution of gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum products. The company’s NYSE stock is worth $66 billion, and the partnership reported net profits of $1.4 billion in the most recent quarter. 

The section of the Enterprise pipeline that flows near Durango goes from New Mexico up toward Grand Junction, tribal officials said, carrying refined, unleaded gasoline. 

Wells fouled by gasoline might never be useable again

Tribal leaders have said that while the state employees who have engaged on the cleanup efforts are well-meaning, they are understaffed and moving slowly in demands on Enterprise. The tribe called out the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversees hazardous waste cleanups, for not sending anyone in person to handle the cleanup until May 1. 

“We will not stand by while our ground and surface water, Tribal resources, and the health of our Tribal Members are put at risk,” tribal Chairman Melvin Baker said May 5, in a release targeting the state and company response. “The citizens of southwestern Colorado and the reservation deserve the same swift government response as the rest of the state,” the tribal release said. 

State officials said in interviews Thursday they have been meeting remotely multiple times a week with company and tribal officials to help direct the cleanup, and that the hazardous waste division frequently conducts spill operations through remote connections. 

That said, “based on the concerns that the tribe has put forward, we will now begin conducting regular, more frequent site visits moving forward,” said Tracie White, director of the state Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initially said it did not have jurisdiction over the spill or cleanup because it apparently affected groundwater that was not connected to “waters of the U.S.” that the agency oversees, tribal and EPA officials said. The potential of seepage toward a major river like the Animas has changed that. 

EPA spokesperson Katherine Jenkins on Wednesday said the agency’s on-scene coordinators have since engaged with the tribe, the company and state officials. “At this time, we are still working on determining if the spill will reach waters of the U.S. EPA has issued a Notice of Federal Interest and are engaged in oversight of Enterprise’s cleanup with CDPHE and the tribes,” the EPA said in an email. 

There are currently 20 homes in the area that have received storage tanks, filters or some form of alternate water supply, tribal environment officials said. They expect that number to grow as the plume of gasoline spreads underground and seeps into more wells. 

Enterprise paid for hotel rooms when homeowners confronting choking pools of gasoline fled their property, and is supplying the replacement water. 

The groundwater supplies that had multiple feet of gasoline floating on top will likely never be usable by affected homes, officials said. “Not in our lifetime,” Dorsk said. 

Pipeline company drilling “sentry” wells to monitor the plume

State health officials said they are carefully monitoring the cleanup and leaning on Enterprise to do more monitoring and assessment, in addition to the mitigation required in trying to absorb the spilled gasoline. 

“Efforts are underway to evaluate the seep and other seeps in the area,” CDPHE spokesperson Branden Ingersoll said, in written responses to questions. 

“At CDPHE, we are committed to protecting public health, holding polluters accountable, and partnering with impacted communities and governments,” Ingersoll said.

“We take the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s concerns seriously and are providing ongoing oversight to ensure the Enterprise Products cleanup continues until environmental standards are met and affected residents are protected,” Patrick Cummins, state director of Environmental Health and Protection, said in comments emailed by the health department.

“The Animas River is located about a half-mile from the release site,” the state written statement said. “There’s currently no evidence of impact.” Enterprise is preparing a “contingency plan,” which must be approved by CDPHE, “to ensure the river remains protected,” the state said. 

Enterprise will be drilling a series of “sentry” wells down the mesa to watch for any more spread of the plume. Those wells can also serve to remove gasoline that migrates from the site, White said.

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The cause of the spill and whether there is any fault to assign is investigated by the federal Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The initial report to that agency dated May 5 said the spill was from a crack around the circumference of the 10-inch pipeline that appeared corroded from the outside, Southern Ute Environmental Programs director Mark Hutson said. Most pipeline cracks are along the length of the pipe, he said.

In their initial incident report to the pipeline agency, Enterprise estimated spill damages and costs at more than $6 million.

The Enterprise community bulletin said the company is well aware of the importance of the Animas River in the area. “Enterprise and its contractors are taking additional proactive steps in cooperation with (the tribe) and CDPHE to protect the Animas River in the unlikely event gasoline were to reach the river. This includes installing an interceptor trench, and other technologies are under consideration.”

The company’s timeline in the bulletin said well monitoring began Dec. 8, construction on an alternative potable water supply began Dec. 27, and the state approved a site assessment plan on March 19.

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