HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02021988 - 2.3 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on February 2, 1988 by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Powers, Fanden, McPeak, Torlakson, Schroder
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
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SUBJECT: Walnut Creek Fuel Oil Spill
The Board received the attached report dated January 27,
1988 from Mark Finucane, Health Services Director.
Dan Bergman, Environmental Health Dirctor, appeared this
date and commented on the report.
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that receipt of the report
from the Health Services Director is ACKNOWLEDGED.
cc: Health Services Director
County Administrator
I heresy certify that this is a true and correct cops=of
ars action taken and entered on ti,e rnnb;t as a _he
Board of Supervisors on the date shown,
ATTESTED: fit- l7 • d v2P8f
PFAHL 0ATC41 •i_Cq9, ,iorl/r;f give Soard
of Supervisors and County Administrator
By - _.J Deputy
•;f _ - • CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
To: Board of Supervisors Date: January 27, 1988
via Phil Batchelor
County Odministr t r
From: Mark FinuAw"' Subject: December 29, 1987 Board Order
Health Services Di ector Requesting Report on Walnut
Creek Fuel Oil Spill
The attached report from our Environmental Health Division regarding the
recent fuel oil spill into Walnut Creek is presented for your review and infor-
mation. In addition, the County Administrator's Office has written the State
Department of Health Services, Environmental Protection Agency, and the State-
Water Resources Control Board, requesting independent reports from each agency
detailing their evaluation of the handling and reporting of this spill .
A review of our Environmental Health Division staff report indicates that
Environmental Health Division staff conducted a site inspection of Walnut Creek
in the vicinity of Solano Way and Imhoff Drive shortly after receiving notice of
the fuel oil spill on the afternoon of December 23, 1987. Godfrey Becks,
Occupational Health Specialist, detected a definite hydrocarbon odor and
observed a slight oil sheen on the Walnut Creek waters during his investigation.
He did not, however, observe significant pockets of accumulation of oil product
at that time in the Walnut Creek channel . Mr. Becks did observe a small
quantity of accumulating hydrocarbon product on the surface of the water, the
ground, and in vegetation near the storm drain culvert outlet. Mr. Becks was
unable to determine a specific source for the fuel oil discharge. Mr. Becks con-
tacted a representative from the adjacent Southern Pacific Pipe Line terminal
and reinspected the spill site with the Southern Pacific Pipeline employee. Mr.
Becks requested that Southern Pacific Pipeline place absorbent hydrocarbon booms
around the mouth of the culvert and both upstream and downstream of the drainage
discharge point to confine and absorb any petroleum product that might be
escaping from the culvert. Mr. Becks believed from his survey of the spill site
_ that this remedial action would be sufficient to contain the minimal discharge
that he observed until a more comprehensive investigation of the potential
source of the fuel oil discharge could be conducted.
-Mr. Becks returned to the Environmental Health Division office in Martinez as
soon as he completed the site survey and telephoned the California State Fish
and Game Division to report the incident and to request assistance in conducting
a further site investigation. Mr. Becks was informed that no Fish and Game
staff members were available to respond at that time. He was additionally
informed that the State Fish and Game office had been notified of the initial
incident earlier that week and that a preliminary investigation had been con-
ducted. Fish & Game had apparently concluded that the oil -problem was seasonal
and fluctuated with the tide. Mr. Becks then returned to the spill site to
A-41 3/81
Board of Supervisors -2- January 27, 1988
verify that the absorbent booms had been installed as specifically agreed by
Southern Pacific Pipeline. Mr. Becks did not notify the Regional Water Quality
Control Board of our site investigation at this time. Mr. Becks returned to the
spill scene the morning of December 24 and verified that the booms were still
intact both upstream and downstream of the bridge. He did not notice additional
accumulations of fuel oil product. Mr. Becks briefed another member of our
Environmental Health staff of the situation to have the creek monitored during
the holiday weekend. -Mr. Becks returned to the spill site on the morning of
December 26, with additional absorbent pads in the event that the absorbent
booms placed the previous day were no longer confining the fuel oil . He found
conditions existing the previous day unchanged.
Dan Bergman, Environmental Health Division Director, and two members of his
hazard response team inspected the spill site the afternoon of December 26
following an emergency response to a hazmat spill in the Rodeo area. Mr.
Bergman discussed the spill status with representatives of Fish and Game who
were at the scene and agreed that additional containment measures were
appropriate since there was visible product flowing from the storm drain culvert
at that time. Southern Pacific Pipeline employees had already begun to build
earthen and sand bag berms around the mouth of the storm drain culverts under_
the direction of Fish and Game. Mr. Bergman' s staff collected samples at the
site for laboratory evaluation. The berms being constructed on Saturday after-
noon were sufficient to contain contaminated storm drain runoff and prevent
further discharge into Walnut Creek.
On the morning of Monday, December 28, Fish and Game officers discussed the
incident communication issues with Mr. Becks. There was also a discussion be-
tween Mr. Becks and the District Manager for Southern Pacific Pipeline that
indicates the U. S. Coast Guard, the California Dept. of Fish and Game, and the
Regional Water Quality Control Board had been notified of the presence of hydro-
carbons in the creek earlier during the month. Staff of Regional Water Quality
Control Board had investigated the previously report of hydrocarbons in Walnut
Creek and concluded that there was insufficient evidence of hydrocarbons to
warrant remedial action at that time.
The remainder of our report details remedial action efforts on the part of the
Southern Pacific Pipeline following the initial release.
I have directed Dan Bergman to prepare detailed protocols for Environmental
Health staff to notify all appropriate State agencies and other potentially
interested governmental agencies of our response(s) to reported spills in the
future. The Environmental Health Division is currently prepared to assume
responsibility for notification of concerned agencies of hazardous materials
incidents occuring in this County on or about March 1, 1988.
Environmental Health Division staff are continuing to actively participate in
the remedial efforts jointly with State Regional Water Quality Control Board and
Fish and Game staff.
DB:rm
r•`t
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
j. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIVISION
_^*^ OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH/HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
TO: Dan Bergman Assistant Director,
Health Services/Environmental Health
FROM: Godfrey Becks
Sr. Occupationa ealth Specia ist
SUBJECT: Oil Spill Incident: Walnut Creek,
vic. Imhoff Dr. & Solano Way, Concord. CA.
Date of Response: December 23 , 1987.
DATE: January 8 , 1988
The report that follows is herewith submitted to provide you
with an update on the status of the above (subject) oil leakage
into Walnut Creek in the vicinity of Southern Pacific Pipelines
property, Concord, CA.
Complaintant: Mr. Jim Marieiro
( 415 ) 228-8258
Complaint: Oil present surfacing in the water of
Walnut Creek, vicinity of the bridge on
Imhoff Drive, near Solano Way.
Very heavy deposit.
Date of last update report: December 28 , 1987.
Saturday, January 2, 1988:
Approx: 14:00 hrs.
Weather conditions on this date: light intermittent rain. I
(GB) conducted a survey of the status of environmental conditions
in the creek area that was involved in the recent oil spill in
order to observe (a) the effectiveness of hydrocarbon cleanup
and recovery activities that are being conducted by Southern
Pacific Pipelines, Inc. , and (b) the impact of increased surface
water runoff on the primary and secondary dams that have been
installed to intercept the hydrocarbon product prior to reaching
the creek.
1
OH-9
S.P. Pipelines Inc. Spill Incident Update: January 8 , 1988
Findings:
The primary and secondary dams were holding up quite well.
Water flow from the storm drain into the primary collection area
was moderate; and a gas powered pump had been installed in order
to reduce excessive head pressure on the primary dam. No visible
hydrocarbon product could be observed in either the primary or
the secondary dam.
Numerous absorbant booms, floating absorbant pads and other
portable floating dams have been installed at various areas of
the water channels of the creek in order to collect and recover
any hydrocarbon product that might bypass the primary collection
system.
A worker for S.P. Piplines has been posted in the area on a
24-hr. basis for security reasons and also to make any necessary
adjustments that might be required. Discussion of the status of
cleanup activities with the worker on-scene, revealed that no
additional hydrocarbon material had been observed. Several water
fowl were observed in the creek channel just south of the.
absorbant booms between Imhoff Drive and Highway 4 ; however, no
visible sign of petroleum oil contamination could be observed on
their feathers.
Sunday, January 3, 1988:
Approx: 13:00 hrs.
Rain has been relatively continuous for the past 24hrs. I
(GB) returned to the creek area to evaluate the impact of
additional runoff water upon cleanup activities that have been
implemented in the subject area.
Findings:
No significant changes in conditions as were observed on the
previous day (Saturday) . The worker on-site stated that no
measurable quantity of petroleum product has been recovered.
Water conditions in the creek appear to be •unchanged from earlier
visits.
Monday, January 4, 1988:
10:30hrs:
Received a telephone call from Kaprillian Engineering,
Benicia, CA. , relative to S.P. ' s intention to install additional
groundwater monitoring wells in the area to monitor subsurface
hydrocarbon product that had previously been identified (June,
1987 Spill incident) .
Approx. 13:30 hrs.
I (GB) met• on-site with Mr. Mardo, Kaprillian Engineering.
He advised me that because of the continuous rain over the
weekend, that some hydrocarbon product surfaced in the primary
2
S:P. Pipelines Inc. Spill Incident Update: January 8 , 198&
dam area by early Monday morning. However, the amount that was
recovered was not a measurable amount and any product recovery
seems to be related to the amount of rainfall and the depth to
groundwater. .
Mr. Mardo also informed me that on Tuesday, January 5, 1988,
his firm will begin the installation of additional monitoring
wells in the area in order to evaluate the extent of lateral and
vertical subsurface hydrocarbon contamination.
Tuesday, January 5, 1988:
Approx. 11:00 hrs.
I (GB) met with Mr. Robert Cardinale, Southern Pacific
Pipelines, Inc. representative. The following information was
gathered during the course of . our meeting.
Re: Remedial Work Performed to date.
o The storm culvert that runs along Imhoff Dr. ( in
the area between Solano Way - the mouth of the
culvert) has been cleaned using a high pressure
water hose. This task was performed in order to
thoroughly inspect the integrity of the joints of
the culvert in the area just south of the S.P.
Pipelines facility.
o Approximately 10-15 joints were found to be
leaking hydrocarbon product apparently from the
annular area around the drain. All of the joints
that were accessible were repaired using epoxy
grout by the plant personnel as an attempt to stop
the intrusion of petroleum product into the
culvert.
o During the inspection, it was found that
petroleum product had pooled in several areas
inside the culvert where silt and debris had
collected. Consequently, when it rained, water
discharge through the storm drain would wash the
product out of the culvert into the creek.
o During the last week of December, 1987, all
of the lines (including the main manifold) located
at the Solano Way facility, were subjected to
static pressure testing. All of the lines tested
satisfactorily and are therefore, considered to
be intact. Additionally, the product line that
runs parallel to the easterly bank of Walnut Creek
was also tested and found to be intact.
3
S.P. Pipelines Inc. Spill Incident Update: January 8, 1988
Re: Future Work Plan(s) :
o The next step toward confining the petroleum
that appears to be migrating toward the Walnut
Creek area via pea gravel backfill material around
(a) the storm drain line and (b) with the natural
hydraulic gradient, will be the installation of an
interceptor trench that will carry any recovered
product over to S.P. Pipeline property just north
of Imhoff Dr. Here, the product would be
separated from the groundwater, and disposed of as
hazardous waste. Recovered wastewater would be
disposed of at the nearby TOSCO Refinery
industrial wastewater pond.
o A bentonite slurry wall will be installed at
the creek bank aound the discharge of the storm
drain for the purpose of preventing further
seepage into the creek.
o Within the next several weeks, a new
technique will be employed at this site in an
effort to define the direction and magnitude --of
the product plume that seems to be fluctuating
with the watertable. Aerial Infra-Red Scanning
will be employed to produce an area map defining
the boundaries of the plume in the area. Once
this information is obtained, it is hoped that
additional recovery wells can be strategically
placed within the plume to recover as much of the
fugative product as is technically possible.
o Relative to toxicity testing of surface
waters in Walnut Creek, results have been received
of water samples that were submitted on Dec. 27th,
1987 for EP Toxicity Testing. The five ( 5) day
survival rate (using Fathead Minnows as the target
species) was 1000. Interpretation of this data
suggests that dissolved organic constituents in
the creek water does not fit the regulatory
definition of being toxic.
Thursday, January 7, 1988:
10:30hrs. :
On this date, I (GB) visited the cleanup site. Working on a
twenty four ( 24) hour schedule, installation of the recovery
trench and the recovery well has been completed. Additionally, a
slurry-bentonite wall has been installed at the terminal end of
the trench to redirect product flow into the recovery system.
4
S.P. Pipelines Inc. Spill Incident Update: January 8 , 1988
Dimensions of the trench are as follows:
Total length: 50 . ft.
Total depth: 20. ft.
Well casing dia. 26. inches (dia. )
Depth to groundwater: -14. ft.
Depth to Drain casing: -19. ft.
overall hydraulic head
for product recovery: 4.0 ft.
It should be noted that upon excavation of the trench, free
flowing hydrocarbon product was found at the water interface
(approx. -9 . 0 to -14.ft. ) in the center of Imhoff Dr. This obser-
vation suggests that the hydrocarbon plume is not the result of a
new release of hazardous material that occurred during the month
of December, 1987 ; but rather, the manifestation of a chronic
condition that is just now beginning to be physically visible.
The overall amount of material appears to be substantial; and any
attempt on my part to quantify the amount of product that is
involved, would be purely speculative.
RE: Historical Information:
January 5, 1988:
10:00hrs. : (cont'd. )
During my .meeting with Mr. Cardinale, I inquired if any
recent spill situations involving S.P. Pipelines facility that
have occurred that might be attributed to the present situation.
I was told by Mr. Cardinale that indeed hydrocarbon releases
have occurred in the past.
Prior to the last episode in June, 1987 , Storage Tank #14
developed a problem In 1976-77 that was subsequently repaired.
Cleanup efforts were implemented at that time to abate the
environmental hazard.
Last June, 1987. Storage Tank #13 developed a leak that
resulted in an environmental insult along Solano Way and the area
eastward. The incident was reported to regulatory agencies in
accordance with current regulations, and the Bay Area Regional
Water Quality Control Board was aware of the situation. Periodic
follow up inspections have been conducted by Mr. Kazemi to review
cleanup progress and groundwater monitoring data.
However, according to Mr. Cardinale, since June 1987, the
structural integrity of all storage tanks, the main manifold, and
all product lines have been verified to be intact. And current
testing procedures have substantiated the fact that no further
structural problems have occurred.
5
S.P. Pipelines Inc. Spill Incident Update: January 8, 1988
Without exception, it is the opinion of all of the
consulting firms that are being contracted to manage the current
situation that current conditions, now that the groundwater table
is high and the soil is saturated with water from recent seasonal
rains, is product that was lost last June, during dry weather
when the water table was at a significantly lower level.
Consequently with the rising groundwater table, hydrocarbon
product is being forced into more porous srata (e.g. the pea
gravel backfill around the storm drains) and is beginning to find
its way via the hydraulic gradient to the creek area.
sppipe2. ltr
6
r CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
j; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIVISION
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH/HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
TO: Dan Bergman Assistant Director,
Health Services/Envir amental Health
FROM: Godfrey Becks
Sr. Occupational Health Specialist
SUBJECT: Oil Spill Incident: Walnut Creek,
vic. Imhoff Dr. & Solano Way, Concord. CA.
Date of Response: December 23 , 1987 .
DATE: December 29, 1987
The report that follows, is a chronological narration of
events and activities as they occurred during the course of this
Department' s response to the above ( subject) emergency response
incident.
Initial Notification: Wednesday, December 23 , 1987 '
@13 : 45 hrs.
Complaintant: Mr. Jim Marierro
( 415) 228-8258
Complaint: Oil present surfacing in the water of
Walnut Creek, vicinity of the bridge on
Imhoff Drive, near Solano Way.
Very heavy deposit.
Wednesday, December 23, 1987
14:00 hrs.
I (GB) contacted Mr. Marierro by phone, and met
with him at the site to evaluate environmental
conditions as he had observed them in the creek area.
Findings: On approaching the creek from the area
underneath the bridge on Imhoff Dr. , a definite odor of
petroleum hydrocarbon product could be detected in the
air.
The creek bank was surveyed (accompanyed by Mr.
Marierro, and another gentleman) for a distance of
approximately 150 ft. north and south of the bridge. A
slight oil sheen could be discerned looking at the
water surface in both directions, but no definitive
gross pockets or accumulations of surfaced oil product
were seen by myself at this time.
JH-9
1
Oil Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
Findings: (cont'd. )
Upon returning from the creek bank area, a strong
odor of volatile hydrocarbon product was again detected
as we passed underneath the bridge. I then walked over
to a storm culvert outlet that is situated near the
creek area, and found an accumulation of hydrocarbon
product on the surface of the water, the ground, and in
the vegetation growth at the outlet of the culvert.
The amount appeared to be less than one ( 1) gallon and
was localized in one area at the base of the culvert.
Water was trickling from the opening of the culvert and
yet no visible obvious stream of hydrocarbon product
could be seen flowing from the culvert with the
emerging water stream.
Continuing to look around the area, I observed an
orange colored undergound pipeline marker just easterly
of the culvert opening, just on the other side of the
fenced flood control area. My immediate suspicion was
that there was a possibility that the escaping
petroleum product might be the result of a pipeline
structural problem. And appropriately, the owner of
the pipeline should be notified. But only finding. a
small amount of product in the culvert. I wasn' t
totally sure that the oil spillage was due to a
pipeline problem. As there was also a street drain at
the edge of the curb approximately 150 ft. east of the
fence, I felt that there might be a possibility that
diesel oil or some similiar hydrocarbon might have been
deposited into the drain and the material had migrated
down the culvert and been discharged into the subject
area.
15:00 hrs.
I (GB) went to the Southern Pacific Pipeline
Terminal office, located on Solano Way, Concord, and
spoke to Mr. Terry Bailey (a S.P. Pipelines worker who
was on duty at the time) . I related to him my concern
about the situation in the vicinity of the bridge, and
the possibility that there might be a problem that
requires investigation by the pipelines company. Mr.
Bailey accompanied me to the site and verified the
conditions that I have narrated earlier. After
discussing the problem, and in the absence of any known
pipeline structural problem, and in view of the fact
that my- survey of the area failed to uncover any
significant quantity of hydrocarbon product, I asked
Mr. Bailey to agree to have absorbant hydrocarbon booms
installed around the mouth of the culvert and to place
additional absorbant booms both upstream and downstream
of the general area in order to confine any petroleum
that might escape from the culvert area.
2
Oil Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
This temporary remedial action was in my
professional judgement appropriate until such time that
additional resources could be mobilized during the
normal working schedule to investigate the situation,
identify if possible the responsible party, and/or
remediate the environmental problem.
Approx. 16:00 hrs. :
I (GB) returned to the Environmental Health Office,
and telephoned The CA. State Fish and Game Division
(Yountville, CA. ) to report the incident, and to seek
assistance in conducting further investigation in this
case. I- was told by the dispatch person at the Fish
and Game office that because of their department' s
normal work schedule and the forthcoming Christmas
holiday weekend no F&G staff members were available.
When I explained my concern about the situation at
Wanut Creek, I was told by the F&G dispatch person that
their office was aware of the situation, and that
notification of the incident had been made earlier
during the week. The dispatch person then informed me
that an investigation had been made, and that (a) the
situation was not significant (b) , that a source of the
problem could not be located and (c) , that oil problem
is a seasonal one that fluctuates with the tide.
With this information, specifically that (a) ,.
another agency was aware of the problem and had
investigated it and (b) , that my visual findings at the
time did not indicate that environmental conditions
were so serious that an emergency cleanup status was
indicated, I felt confident that temporary mitigation
measures ( i.e. placement of absorbant booms) would
suffice to keep the contamination confined to a
localized area until the following Monday ( 12/28/87 ) .
The Environmental Health Division would then be able to
research County Flood Control maps and S.P. Pipelines
personnel could be mobilized to initiate testing of the
structural integrity of the product line in the area;
any required structural corrections could then be made.
16:20 hrs.
I (GB) by request, returned a telephone call to
Ms. Kathy Snapp (C.C. Times) and advised her of
conditions as I found them during my survey of the
creek and action that had been taken to control the
environmental problem until further measures could be
implemented in the forthcoming week.
17:00 hrs.
I returned to the creek area and conducted a
survey to personally verify that the absorbant booms
had been installed in the specified areas .
3
' - Oil`• Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
Thursday, December 24, 1987
08:30 hrs. :
Followup evaluation of conditions at the culvert
area near the creek was conducted to determine the
status of product in the creek. My survey- of the water
and the creek failed to reveal any change in conditions
from what had been previously observed. The same
marginal amount of product was still at the base of
the culvert in a confined state behind the absorbant
boom that had been installed earlier. The two ( 2)
booms were still intact upstream and downstream of the
bridge at Imhoff Dr. , and overall conditions appeared
to be stable. No further action was taken at this
time.
10:00 hrs. :
I (GB) returned to the creek area with Mr. Roger
Lewis (EHS staff member) in order to brief him on the
creek situation and also to have him check the creek
area over the holiday weekend should further
notification and/or emergency cleanup activity be
required.
13:45 hrs. :
I returned a phone call to Mr. J. Marierro
responding to his concern that insufficient effort was
being expended to cleanup the creek. I reitterated to
Mr. Marierro the efforts that this department had
expended up to this point, and told him that the
department was prepared to monitor the creek area for
any changes in conditions over the holiday weekend.
And if needed, that further emergency action would be
implemented to further confine and/or cleanup the creek
if necessary. However, based upon my personal
observations several hours earlier, I was still of the
opinion that the situation was not emergent and
conditions were not getting worse.
4
Oil Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
Saturday, December 26, 1987
08:30 hrs. :
Thinking about the possibility that because of
tidal fluctuations some of the material might have
managed to make its way around the edge of the booms, I
went to the EHS storage shed (Goree Court, Martinez) ,
obtained a large stack of absorbant pads and proceeded
to the creekside area with the intention of placing the
pads on the water surface if the situation warranted.
Conditions appeared to be unchanged from what was
observed on Thurs. morning; so no further effort was
made to alter the situation.
Saturday afternoon, December 26, 1987.
Although I personally was not involved in this
emergency response, I was advised by EHS staff
personnel that Messrs. Dan Bergman, Roger Lewis, and
Bruce Benike responded to the spill site area. By that
time, several regulatory agencies, S.P. Pipelines
personnel and cleanup consultants were on the scene
constructing additional dams in order to contain the
product and/or to prevent any intrusion of the
petroleum material into the creek.
Samples of the petroleum product were collected by
Environmental Health staff for subsequent analysis of
the material for the purpose of identifying ownership,
and/or if possible the source of spillage.
Monday, December 28, 1987
08:00 hrs. :
On reporting to work Monday a.m. , I was advised by
EHS staff personnel that by Saturday afternoon, the
creekside situation had been escalated to an emergency
cleanup status, and that several consulting cleanup
firms and regulatory agencies were on-scene to manage
and abate the environmental problem.
08:45 hrs. :
Officer Keith Long, CA. Fish and Game Division
visited the EHS office, to inquire about what he felt
had been a breakdown in the communications process
between this department and his division. I related to
- Mr. Long of my attempt to obtain assistance from his
office on Wednesday Dec. 23rd. , and that I had been
told by the dispatch person in his office that F&G was
aware of the problem.
09:00 hrs. :
The hydrocarbon product sample that had been
previously collected by EHS emergency response staff
members was submitted to TMA Thermo Analytical
Laboratory, Richmond CA. with an urgent request for
sample identification (GC/MS) of the major components
5
ILI
' Oil Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
of the sample. (See Attachment) .
09:30 hrs. :
I (GB) contacted Mr. Robert Cardinale, District
Manager for Southern Pacific Pipelines, on-site and
reviewed the status of cleanup and source
identification efforts with him and his consultant
(Levin & Fricke) . (a) The primary dam around the
discharge opening of the culvert (as a replacement of
the absorbant boom that had been installed earlier) was
still intact. (b) A secondary sandbag dam was being
erected around the outer perimeter of the primary
earthen dam to provide a backup catchment basin in the
event that the pending rain weakened the original
earthen dam.
During a discussion of the course of events that
had transpired during the past 96 hours, Mr. Cardinale
indicated to me that the United States Coast Guard, the
CA. State Fish and Game Division, and also the Regional
Water Quality Control Board had been notified of the
presence of hydrocarbons in the creek earlier during. `
the month. Further, that the Regional Water Quality
Control Board (Mr. Hossain Kazemi) had investigated the
creek during the week of Dec. 14th; and that no
mitigative action had been implemented to manage the
situation.
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 1987
09:30 hrs:
EHS received a telephone call from S.P. Pipelines
informing the department of the status of cleanup
activities:
(a) The length of the culvert from the manhole in the
vicinity of Solano Way westward to the mouth of the
culvert near the creek has been visually inspected by
S.P. Pipelines consulting contractors. Organic vapor
was encountered in the line. However no significant
evidence of organic petroleum product was found to be
leaking into the culvert.
(b) The birmed area around the mouth of the culvert
remained free of any petroleum product from
Monday, 08 : 00 to 24: 00 hrs. However, at some time
between 24 : 00 and 05 : 00 Tuesday morning, product
has reaccumulated in the primary dam. The material
is confined and poses no problem of escaping. But
the origin of its source, and/or the reason for
its discharge is presently unknown.
6
' Oil Spill Incident; Imhoff Drive, Concord, CA. Dec. 23 , 1987
15:00 hrs.
I (GB) received a return telephone .call from Mr.
Hossain Kazemi, Regional Water Control Borad. In our
discussion of the Walnut Creek situation, Mr. Kazemi
confirmed Mr. Cardinale' s statement to the effect that
he had in fact, investigated the creek during the week
of Dec. 14th, 1987 . Mr. Kazemi stated that he visited
the site later in the evening (day/date not specified)
on his way home; and that his survey of the area from
the bridge and the upper creek bank, approximately 900 .
ft. in both directions, failed to reveal any signs of
hydrocarbon contamination in the creek. Consequently,
no further action was taken on his part in the matter
at that time.
Mr. Kazemi also expressed his concern about what
he feels was a serious communications breakdown on this
department' s part in not informing his office of the
discovery of an oil sheen in the surface waters of the
creek as soon as I observed it on Wednesday evening.
And to this point, I was in error. I assure you that I
will personally correct discrepancies in my
notification proceedures. I related to Mr. Kazemi also
of my shared concern about CC EHS not being apprised
earlier by his agency of the existence any potential
problem in the creek that might ultimately involve
Contra Costa County' s emergency first responders. I
personally feel that if our department, or at least if
I had been privileged to any prior communication from
any of the aforementioned agencies relative to their
experience(s) with the potential problem, that I would
have been able to render more prudent decisions during
my response activity to this incident.
7