Alyeska Pipeline Service Company is investigating an oil spill sheen near the Valdez Marine Terminal’s small boat harbor that was first reported on the evening of April 12.
Early indicators suggested that the crude/water mixture was leaking from a sump that overflowed, according to an Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation report issued on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 14.
The product spilled was primarily a mixture of Alaska North Slope crude with water, DEC officials said. The amount released was unknown and will be estimated based on recovery numbers, the agency said.
Meanwhile the sump was emptied, a vac truck has been on site and monitoring of the sump continued.
DEC officials said the oil traveled under the snow-covered surface and came out near the head of Berth 4 into Port Valdez. A tanker was loading at Berth 5 at the time of the spill, but was not affected. Most of the sheen was contained behind the Berth 4 area with sorbent boom and sweeps and two layers of hard yellow boom, according to DEC.
The U.S. Coast Guard and DEC have been on scene to observe Alyeska’s response actions.
An additional layer of bigger boom was deployed outside of the hard yellow boom to enhance the containment of sheen. The boom was deployed to protect Solomon Gulch Hatchery and the Valdez Duck Flats.
As of the afternoon of April 14, 423 barrels of oil water mixture had been collected. Steps were being taken to be sure that Berth 5 remained clear of sheen to ensure that tankers can be loaded safely, DEC said.
Wildlife were observed near the spill area, with one oiled Kittiwake reported.
Plans were to clean up the spill site and continue monitoring to evaluate the need to deploy additional response equipment and personnel. The incident was having no impact on operation of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System pipeline itself.
