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Home My WebLink AboutRESOLUTIONS - 01051988 - S.3 TO:_ * BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: -J Supervisor Nancy Fanden Contra December 29, 1987 Costa DATE: County REPORT ON HANDLING OF OIL SPILL SUBJECT: SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION REQUEST: That our health services director, Mark Finucane, direct Dan Bergman, director of the environmental health division, to prepare a report on its handling of a recent fuel oil spill. in Walnut Creek, a salmon and steelhead fishery north of Concord. Request independent reports from the Departments of Fish & Game, Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Quality Board on the handling and reporting of this spill by the county environmental health division. That the above reports be evaluated by Mark Finucane for the purpose of better communication and coordination between all responsible government agencies. BACKGROUND: The recent spill was first inspected by the environmental health division on Wednesday, December 23rd. It was believed that the leak could be contained with a cotton-and-fiberfill boom. For whatever reason, the State Water Quality people were not notified until Thursday, December 24th, 1987 by county environmental personnel, according to. Jim Marierio, an angler who is active in county environmental issues. Anglers originally reported the leak. Articles in the Monday and Tuesday issues of the Contra Costa Times are attached for background information on this issue. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON anuary , 1988 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDEDOTIJER IT IS FURTHER ORDERED BY THE BOARD that the issue of the recentTuel oil spill in Walnut Creek is REFERRED to the Fish and Wildlife Study Committee and the Finance Committee is REQUESTED to review use of hazardous waste tax monies for an enforcement program on County dreeks and channels VOTE OF SUPERVISORS X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ' ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Health Services ATTESTED January 5, 1988 Environmental Health Rii Batchelor, Clerk ®f the Board of Department of Fish and Game SUperVisOlsand County Administrator Fish and Wildlife Study Committee Environmental Protection Agency M3e2i7-e3 F inance`u6om 1 Attee ncy BY , DEPUTY i CONTRA COSTA TIMES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1987 Fanden to ask -report o , fiandl*ng oil spill By Anne Burke Dan Bergman,director of the en- Sta"writer vironmental health division,said his MARTINEZ—Supervisor Nancy office initially believed the leak Fanden says she will look into com- could be contained with a cotton- plaints about Contra Costa County's and-fiberfill boom. handling of a fuel oil spill at a popu- "It didn't seem to be substantial lar fishing spot near Concord. from what we could initially see," Fanden said she will ask for a re- Bergman said. "I think we did move port on whether the count's envi- forward in a timely manner." ronmental health division underesti- "In hindsight, we could have or- mated the size of a spill in Walnut dered the construction of a berm on Creek, a salmon and steelhead fish- Thursday, and people would have ery north of'Concord. been more comfortable," he said. ,..I'm frankly appalled that this But, Bergman said, a berm did not (spill) existed and I'm grateful that seem necessary based on the divi- we have fishermen who go up and sion's inspection of the site Wednes- i down that creek to notice this. It day. could have gone on for months," Bergman said the volume of the Fanden said. flow may have increased since the Jim Marieiro of Martinez, an an- environmental division first inspect- gler who is active in county environ- ed the site Wednesday. mental issues, complained to Fah-_ Southern Pacific Pipe lines, an den and other county officials that oil-product transporter that operates the environmental health division a pump station near the contaminat- didn't move fast enough to contain ed creek, ran a video tape camera the leak of a diesel-type fuel from a through the storm drain Monday to storm drain south of Imhoff Road: locate the leak Anglers originally reported the leak However,.Southern Pacific dis The board will "want to find out -'`trict manager Bob Cardinal said the if that was indeed true," Fanden results of that test were inconclu- said. sive. Fanden said she will ask the en- Cardinal said the company does vironmental division at a supervi- .not believe it is responsible for the sors' meeting today to prepare a re- spill because it hasn't found faulty port on its handling of the spill. equipment or evidence of leaks. CONTRA COSTA TIMES MONDAY, DECEMBER 289 1987 m m - V1 .7 T >• C 5- CD �y='vim " F + • . C CD �d 1 - S XD OD Ell r CD to CDy O D � 3 O m E_ C .n. VI rDT. y n 6t m y O 5 V1 .-S•j °�'�. :O .=X y m o —O _ c� � cern � c�maa csR,'vSo 1 30g fl m� m r ° 'may fDet � 1 0 LA _� � C � 'D ^'_ �• y � c ?Gomm �C � M"'�• � Omni 0o c —_ cy y o _F c y m CD y c CL ID fD ID O f fD > cp cD;n � cD vR cD -, iD " d '•t _+ F as ? vi cD � G�_ :i f. SPILL' From Page 1A "The survival of the whole eco- cleanup efforts until the cause is system is going to be.wiped out" determined. unless the area is cleansed of oil,he :,Southern Pacific owns facilities said. on.S61ano Way,just east of Walnut Salmon and steelhead spawn in Creek.. Walnut Creek north of the Highway `Fishermen found the fuel flowing 240 bridge, said dim Marieiro, a 4from a-66-inch storm drain on Dec. fisherman who is active in Contra 18, Long said. Cotton-and-fiberfill Costa County environmental issues. booms were positioned on thi.creek. "If oil gets in eggs, the eggs are Wednesday to block its flow: gone. It's like a bad apple in a bar- A series of booms stopped most rel.You wipe out the whole barrel," of the spill within 500 yards of the . Marieiro said. storm drain. But smaller amounts ' . The type of cleanup requested by traveled_.more than three miles Fish and Game will depend on re- north to.Suisun Bay, Long said. sults of lab tests on water and sedi- Logg said the amount of spillage ment samples, Long said. is difficult to determine but estimat- If tests show the fuel will not dis- ed it could be as much as 500 gal- sipate within a month, the depart- 1ons. ment will.ask that Southern Pacific On Sunday afternoon, Jim Le- — or another company determined vine of Levine Fricke in Oakland,anto be responsible—clean the.creek engineering and hydrogeology firm. by removing the top layer of gravel hired by Southern Pacific, placed or steaming banks and the creek _dozefis of 24-square-inch, oil-absor- bed during low tide. bent pads,around the creek and Southern Pacific also plans' to marshland to remove the fuel. send fuel samples to a lab to.deter- : The company pians to flush the mine the exact content of the sub- fuel from the storm drain on Tues- -'Itance, Levine said. --day and pump it out of the reservoir _' - Southern Pacific believes it is not created by the earthen dam, Levine responsible for the leak because it said. Oil will also be flushed from can account for all of its fuel and the area along the sides of the creek has found no faulty equipment, Car- and absorbed by the pads, he said. dinal said. The saturation of fuel on the Marieiro said the Contra Costa creek bed is Iess than 1 millimeter County environmental health divi- thick, Levine said. sion moved too slowly on cleanup Long said he's not sure whether efforts and underestimated the size salmon- or steelhead have been of the spill. killed by the spill because the tide "I feel the county didn't respond would have washed dead fish into to this quickly enough. They didn't the bay. think it was a very big deal." he He worries the fuel could endan- said. ger the ecosystem by killing fish Godfrey Becks,county senior oc- and crustaceans eaten by mammals cupational health specialist,said last and non-game birds. week the county was "not remiss in On Sunday morning, Long found dealing with the issue." a Sacramento sucker, a non-game Becks said then that the spill was fish, on the bank of the creek, not an emergency and could be han- where it appeared to have been dled with the use of booms. dragged by a raccoon.The mammal The environmental diN ision could left the fish untouched'because it not be reached for comment Sun- was covered with.oil, Long said. day.