Incident Report

Subject:                     Tank farm leak results in large gasoline spill near Rock Springs

Date of Email report:   Sat 19/11/2011

Report Detail:

A leak at the ConocoPhillips tank farm outside Rock Springs resulted in a spill of approximately 1,100 barrels, or 44,000 gallons, of unleaded gasoline Thursday night. Officials were notified at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when employees at the tank farm were alerted by atmospheric monitoring sensors at the facility. The call resulted in a multi-agency response, including the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, Fire District No. 1, Wyoming Highway Patrol and Sweetwater County Emergency Management. “Something like this is a major cooperative effort,” Dick Blust, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said. The facility is primarily used to store gasoline and diesel fuels. There are two truck racks on location which allow fuel trucks to load fuel for distribution.  Blust said the leak was stopped immediately and the spill was contained inside the facility.

Despite the smell of gasoline being present near the facility Friday evening, Blust said there are no concerns with air quality and monitoring systems are still checking the air quality around the facility.  Jim Wamsley, fire chief at Fire District No. 1, said Foothill Boulevard was closed at Gookin Road and near the entrance to the Volcic mobile home park. Residents in the mobile home park and those staying at the nearby KOA campground were notified of the spill. Wamsley said the mobile home park is about three-fourths of a mile from the facility and the Clearview Acres subdivision is more than a mile away.

The campground is directly adjacent to the tank farm.  Romelia Hinojosa, a spokesperson for ConocoPhillips said they don’t have an estimate for how much the spill will cost to clean up and said the cause of the leak is still under investigation. After an investigation is completed, additional prevention measures may be installed to prevent future leaks.  An independent contractor to ConocoPhillips is handling the clean-up work, which consists of vacuuming as much of the liquid as possible, then applying absorbent mats to collect additional fuel. After that phase, the ground will be excavated and contaminated soil will be sent to a processing facility to remove any gasoline still present.  Ground water monitoring wells are present around the facility and the tanks themselves have emergency dykes built near them to guard against spills, as per Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Wamsley said he was told a layer of ice had formed in the dykes and made a majority of the fuel recoverable.

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