Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dec. 3, 1999

99-257

Contact: Steve Hunter, Spill Response Manager, (360) 407-6974
Ron Langley, Public Information, (425) 649-7009

Olympic Pipe Line Co. fined for negligence on Renton spill

OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Olympic Pipe Line Co. $120,000 for negligence in an Aug. 29 oil spill at the company's Renton pump station.

Soil and ground water were contaminated by the 3,300-gallon spill from a failed pump located within walking distance of the pipeline's main control center. Pipeline operators were slow to detect the nearby spill and were unable to reach company officials who knew how to properly handle the spill and notify government emergency responders. During Ecology's investigation, Olympic also could not produce complete maintenance records for the pump nor a formal, written maintenance plan for any of the company's facilities.

"After the Bellingham tragedy, we expected Olympic to be looking hard at every possible source of a spill from the pipeline," said Joe Stohr, who manages Ecology's spills program. "Instead, we discovered another problem area that isn't getting attention. This company just doesn't seem to get it."

The Renton pump failure was caused by a bolt that broke due to metal fatigue. An engineering report commissioned by the company said the bolt was "likely the original equipment" on the 30-year-old pump. Company officials disputed that conclusion, but could not produce records indicating the bolt had been changed during the life of the pump.

Stohr noted that owners of the other major liquid-fuel pipelines in Washington all have formal, written maintenance programs, but Olympic does not.

He said Ecology's finding of negligence is based on this incident and the company's history with regulators. For example, half of the spill-related administrative orders issued by Ecology in the past 10 years have gone to Olympic. In addition, since the Aug. 29 spill, operating and maintenance errors have led to four more spills from the pipeline, totaling 131 gallons. One of the spills came from the same pump that failed on Aug. 29.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Pipeline Safety manages ongoing regulation of interstate pipelines, but Ecology has the authority to require environmental improvements that are directly related to a spill.

Using that authority, Ecology has ordered Olympic Pipe Line Co. to:

Within 30 days, develop a written preventative maintenance program for pumps and ancillary equipment at all of the company's Washington facilities;
Within 30 days, improve the Renton facility's spill-response contingency plan;
Within 60 days, submit a design for a stormwater management system at all pump stations that includes "secondary containment" structures around pumps that can capture spills and prevent them from spreading to the environment. Installation of the system must start within 60 days of Ecology's approval of the design.

Olympic Pipe Line Co. has 15 days to present reasons why Ecology should reduce the penalty, and 30 days to appeal the fine to the State Pollution Control Hearings Board.