|
|
|
| Pipeline Rupture Spills Oil Into Reservoir North of Los Angeles | |
| The Associated Press, March 24, 2005 |
Volume 4 Issue 40March 2005 |
|
A landslide apparently ruptured an oil pipeline Wednesday and spilled up to 126,000 gallons of crude into Pyramid Lake, a reservoir that holds water for Southern California cities, officials said. Water officials said they had cordoned off the affected area of the lake and were not concerned about potential contamination of the region's drinking water. "These kinds of spills are usually pretty localized," said Henry Martinez, chief operating officer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which uses water from the reservoir to generate power. Officials were concerned, however about possible harm to local wildlife. |
|
|
"We have a bird and wildlife rescue unit on standby if we should have a problem," said Arthur G. Diefenbach, a senior vice president for Pacific Energy Partners, whose subsidiary, Pacific Pipeline Systems, owns the pipeline. The spill occurred shortly after 1 p.m., about a mile east of the lake, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Light crude oil from the San Joaquin Valley flowed under Interstate 5 and down a ravine into a finger-like cove of the lake, said Inspector John Mancha of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Firefighters closed several lanes of the freeway as they rushed to isolate the area and build a dike to keep more oil from pouring into the lake. The U.S. Forest Service and state Department of Fish and Game were working with Pacific Energy to control the oil. "We stopped the pipeline pretty close to when it occurred. They have isolated that section of the pipe," Diefenbach said. "It was a landslide. It took the land away and got our pipe too." The 1,297-acre lake stores water for delivery to Los Angeles and other Southern California coastal cities. It offers fishing, boating and other recreational opportunities but was not scheduled to open until May 1. The lake also usually sends water to the DWP's Castaic power plant, spinning turbines to generate additional power during periods of peak electricity usage, but the flow had been shut off in recent weeks for maintenance, Martinez said. The department had planned to turn the power plant back on this weekend, he said but added, "We've been asked not to operate the power plant so the spill can be contained." |
|
Email this article to a friendEmail a friend a link to our web site |
Back to Safety Issues... |
|
|
|
|
|
