From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Dennis Webb):
State agencies continue to discuss issues of jurisdictional oversight over the liquid hydrocarbons leak near Parachute, something that could have a bearing in terms of the amount of potential fines that could be imposed in the incident.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been leading the investigation into a leak of thousands of gallons of hydrocarbons in a pipeline corridor near Parachute Creek. “That may continue to be the case but we’re continuing to sort that out,” said Steve Gunderson, director of the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which also has been involved in the case.
The commission has issued notices of alleged violation against Williams, which has pipelines in the corridor serving its adjacent gas processing plant, and WPX Energy, which owns the contaminated site and has wells and other facilities in the area. Williams said this week it has determined that a faulty valve gauge on its natural gas liquids line coming from the plant is the source of the leak, but the commission said while that is a possible explanation, it is continuing to investigate.
By state law, the commission can impose fines of up to $1,000 a day per rule violation, although a bill now being considered by the Legislature would increase that to $15,000. Gunderson said daily fines for violations of his division’s rules can run up to $10,000 a day.
Commission fines also are capped at a total of $10,000 per violation, although that cap can be waived under circumstances such as when significant environmental impacts occur. The legislation now being considered would remove that cap.
Gunderson said while he understands why everyone focuses on penalties, the big costs for violators come from what regulators call “injunctive relief.” “It’s what we require the entity to do to fix the problem and prevent the problem from happening again,” he said.
The commission has rules addressing leaks and contamination related to exploration and production. Health Department rules govern groundwater and surface water contamination. The Environmental Protection Agency also has been involved in the Parachute case. “I cannot say yet how the jurisdictional issues are going to work out,” said Todd Hartman, spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, of which the commission is a part, said this week.
From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (John Colson):
An April 10 statement from Todd Hartman, communications officer for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), noted that Williams’ identification of a faulty gauge attached to an above-ground valve as the source “provides a possible explanation of a release in this area.” But, Hartman’s statement continued, “The investigation of the cause or causes of the impacts to soil and groundwater will continue until we can determine whether the release described by Williams accounts for the situation on the ground.”
According to statements from the COGCC and Williams, the company has continued drilling new monitoring wells along the banks of Parachute Creek to determine the overall size of the plume and to check for groundwater contamination.
According to the COGCC’s April 10 bulletin, three new groundwater monitoring wells about 50 feet south of Parachute Creek showed benzene at concentrations between 51 parts per billion (ppb) and 450 ppb. That is considerably lower than the levels of benzene found closer to the reported source of the leak.
Hartman also reported that surface water samples taken from the creek itself, about two and a half miles downstream from the plume, showed no sign of contamination. The samples were taken at about the spot where the town of Parachute takes irrigation water out of the creek.
From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (John Colson):
By April 2, [Juan Rodriguez, the Dallas-based deputy regional director of OSHA] said, a formal investigation had begun into reports that employees at the plume site were working without the proper protective gear. Rodriguez emphatically refused to disclose any details about OSHA’s activities at the plume site, but said the results of the investigation would be made public once it is completed. The investigation could take as long as six months, he said…
Meanwhile, a trio of men told the Post Independent this week they fear they have been poisoned from benzene exposure during weeks of work on the hydrocarbon spill…
The three workers all said no breathing devices were distributed to prevent the workers from breathing in fumes from the hydrocarbons.