Crews Prevent Threat to Area’s Drinking Water

Last week, 126,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into a cove of Pyramid Lake, 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles along Interstate 5. Named for a nearby triangular rock carved by engineers building the old Highway 99, the lake is a popular recreational spot in the Angeles National Forest, but it also provides drinking water. Workers are now racing to clean up the spill.

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Question: Where did the oil come from?

Answer: A pipeline near the lake carries 2.5 million gallons a day of San Joaquin Valley light crude from wells in Kern County to refineries in the South Bay. When a landslide ruptured the 14-inch pipe March 23, oil spilled down a natural culvert and into the lake’s Posey Cove, coating about 4,500 feet of shoreline.

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Q: Who owns the pipeline?

A: Pacific Energy Partners owns the pipeline through a subsidiary. Based in Long Beach, Pacific Energy is a publicly traded company that transports, stores and distributes crude oil in California, the Rocky Mountain region and Alberta, Canada.

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Q: Is the company taking responsibility for the spill?

A: Yes. It is participating in the cleanup with state and federal teams, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mark Reese, the company’s director of environment and safety, said the landslide was probably caused by recent rains that loosened the hillsides. He said hundreds of slides have occurred in the area, but this was the first to break a pipeline.

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Q: Has any drinking water been contaminated?

A: Officials say no, because crews were able to contain the oil in Posey Cove before it could spread. Water from the lake normally flows south through Pyramid Dam and down into the 7.2-mile Angeles Tunnel, part of the State Water Project’s West Branch, before passing through hydroelectric turbines at a Castaic power plant and settling into Castaic Lake. There the water passes through a treatment plant before being piped to retailers serving residents and businesses in Southern California.

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Q: Was any wildlife hurt?

A: On Tuesday, two ducks were found dead. In addition, at least two ducks, a coot and a seabird have been spotted with oiled feathers. The California Department of Fish and Game hired the Oiled Wildlife Care Network to oversee the rescue and cleaning of any oiled animals.

Network spokesman Greg Massey said feathers serve as insulation and keep cold water away from a duck’s skin. “When their feathers are oiled, water can easily seep through the feather coat,” Massey said. “It’s like a hole in a dry suit.”

Massey said oiled wildlife will attempt to dry by spending extended periods on land. This, he said, can expose them to predators or lead to dehydration and starvation. He said that while the injured wildlife are on land they constantly preen and ingest the oil, which can lead to ulcers or death.

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Q: How long does it take to clean a rescued animal so it can return to the wild?

A: About seven to 10 days. All oiled wildlife found at the lake will be transported to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in San Pedro.

“They go for a couple of days for stabilization and feeding, they get cleaned, they usually take some two to three days to get their waterproofing back, and then we allow them a period of time to basically acclimate to being in water full time again,” Massey said.

Massey said rescuers can tell when a bird is ready for release after “making sure they’re 100% waterproof, looking at their body weight, and looking at their blood work.”

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Q: How long will it take to clean up the spill?

A: Officials are unsure but the lake’s recreation areas have been closed until mid-April. About 150 crew members from private contractors and state and federal agencies are working in 12-hour shifts around the clock to remove the oil and clean the cove.

“Our primary goals are to collect the oil, minimize the environmental impact and to keep everybody safe throughout the operation,” said Michelle Rogow, an environmental engineer for the EPA.

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Q: How is the oil being removed?

A: Because oil is lighter than water, it floats near the surface. Crews are using two barges and seven skimming devices to pick it up. About 9,000 feet of booms, curtain-like flotation devices, have been deployed to contain the large pockets of oil that remain.

After the mixture of oil and water is skimmed, it is pumped up a half-mile tube that snakes along a rugged dirt path into one of two 500-gallon containment tanks. The mix of oil and water is then pumped to a vacuum truck and driven about 15 miles north on Interstate 5 to a pumping station near Fort Tejon State Park. The station will filter out the water and return the oil to a pipeline.