January 21, 2024
Update #15 on Olympic Pipeline Gasoline Spill
Please see the most recent statement below from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington State Department of Ecology, and bp America regarding the Olympic pipeline gasoline spill on Highway 534 in Conway. Skagit County Department of Emergency Management is on site to support the response efforts.
The Unified Command leading the response to the discharge of gasoline from a vault associated with the Olympic Pipeline in Conway, Washington has the following updates on the progress of cleanup efforts.
Cleanup Progress and Next Steps
Field operations restarted this week following the January 12 weather stand down. Response teams have resumed excavation of impacted soil at the spill site.
In the coming weeks, response teams will begin installing a temporary sheet piling wall to isolate the eastern bank of Hill Ditch and allow response crews to dig out the remaining impacted soil and sediment and replace it with clean soil. This approach will allow responders to isolate contaminants from the ditch while minimizing disruption to any potential fish migration.
The wall will be installed along approximately 220 feet of the impacted east shoreline, just north of SR 534. Large interlocking steel sheet pilings will be installed using a crane-mounted vibratory pile-driving system. Delivery and installation of the crane will require a full closure of SR 534 for a period of four to six hours. The date and times of the closure will be communicated to the public as soon as they are available. The closure will not happen during peak commuting or school pick-up or drop-off times.
Pile driving operations are expected to begin in early February and last approximately two weeks. The pile driving system will operate during daylight hours. Residents may notice elevated construction noise and vibration in the immediate area. Vibration and noise monitoring will be in place along the Hill Ditch dike and along the pipeline.
Water Sampling
Ongoing sampling activities in the area have included collecting over 260 surface water and sediment samples in nearby waterways including Hill Ditch, Skagit River, and Skagit Bay. Sampling downstream of the spill site continues and no exceedances of environmental or health-based screening values for hydrocarbons have been reported at any location since December 22, 2023.
Air Sampling
Over 7,000 real-time field readings and 132 lab analyzed air samples have been collected in the community, all of which continue to indicate no public health risk from gasoline fumes. Community air monitoring will continue during work hours when impacted soil is being removed.
Downstream Booming
Because of the continued absence of detectable hydrocarbons in Hill Ditch below the SR 534 bridge, Unified Command has determined that some of the boom downstream of the I-5 overpass can be removed. The continued presence of the boom may inhibit the natural flow of water, fish, and wildlife. Boom removal may begin as soon as this weekend.
General Information
Area residents who live along Hill Ditch may continue to see sheen as pockets of gasoline that were trapped by vegetation and other debris on the water and along the shoreline are released by wind, rain, and the natural rise and fall of stream levels. Spill response teams are locating and removing these pockets of gasoline.
SR 534 was reopened to two-way traffic as of Jan. 8, 2024.
Air monitoring conducted at the direction of the Unified Command continues to indicate no public health risk from gasoline fumes.
Members of the public who come upon injured or deceased wildlife are asked not to touch or relocate affected wildlife and to call 1-800-22BIRDS.
A claims center has been established by the Olympic Pipeline. Please call 1-866-616-1558 to report any personal or property damages resulting from the spill.
The Unified Command consists of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, bp, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
Status updates are posted on Ecology’s website at ecology.wa.gov/OlympicPipelineSpill. Photos and videos are available on Ecology’s Flickr and Youtube sites. For further information on this incident, contact:
Franji Mayes/Ecology: 360-529-7063
Jenn Rogers/Skagit County: 360-630-6604
Paul Takahashi/bp: 713-903-9729
Bill Dunbar/EPA: 206-245-7452
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