October 18, 2010 - EarthFax Provides Emergency Response Engineering Services for an Urban Oil Spill
On June 11, 2010 a 10-inch diameter crude oil pipeline ruptured, releasing more than 33,000 gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The cause of the release is still under investigation. Oil flowed directly to the creek and went downstream for approximately 3 miles to a 30-acre storm-water detention pond situated in an urban park in Salt Lake City. From there it flowed to the Jordan River, which flows through the middle Salt Lake County and empties into the Great Salt Lake.
As a member of the pipeline company’s emergency response team, EarthFax responded to the site of the release to identify the extent of contamination at the site and along the affected waterways, deploy oil absorbent booms at strategic locations, and identify areas where oil recovery would be feasible. As emergency response activities continued, EarthFax participated in directing cleanup crews in the performance of oil removal activities along Red Butte Creek, conducted periodic valuations of the degree of oil contamination using the standardized Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (“SCAT surveys”) developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, collected samples to characterize the magnitude of contamination in shoreline sediments and surface waters, and provided agency liaison services to the client.
As response activities progressed, EarthFax participated in remediation and reclamation efforts by providing reclamation design for affected slopes along the creek bank, remediation design for affected sediments located in the storm-water detention pond, and civil engineering design for replacement of affected structures such as curbing and sidewalk that bordered the pond. EarthFax continues to conduct regular SCAT surveys and sampling activities to characterize the presence of any post-remediation oil contamination present in the water and sediments located within the original boundary of the released oil.
EarthFax Engineering, Inc. is a consulting engineering firm that was founded in 1982, with offices in Midvale, Utah. The firm provides services in the areas of civil engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydrology, geology, land reclamation, and environmental planning. Additional information regarding EarthFax can be found at www.earthfax.com.
