The State : Engineer Flays Shell for Spill

A state water engineer berated Shell Oil Co. for an illegal practice that allowed crude oil to get into bird sanctuaries and bays, killing wildlife and trapping hundreds of fishing boats in harbors in San Francisco Bay near Martinez. The spill occurred after a rain drainpipe that runs through the middle of the oil tank broke, allowing oil to be siphoned out. Larry Kolb, principal engineer for the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, said federal environmental rules require that storm water be diverted to a containment area and not discharged directly into a waterway. “It should have been designed (so) that there was not an automatic movement of (rainwater drainage) outside the dike unless it had been first inspected,” Kolb said. Shell spokesman Gene Munger said that “while the investigation is continuing, the management of this refinery takes full responsibility” for the accident.