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Department of Ecology News Release - October 23, 2007
07-317
OLYMPIA - Beginning Oct. 26, 2007, the Department of Ecology's (Ecology) will require all vessels delivering oil and the state's 18 major land-based, large-volume oil handling facilities to deploy containment boom equipment before starting oil transfers over water at rates of 500 gallons per minute or more.
The new "pre-booming" requirements are part of Ecology's oil transfer rule that went into effect in October 2006 and cover all types of petroleum and plant-based fuel products such as crude oil, diesel and bio-diesel fuel and heavy fuel oils.
The agency has determined that high-rate fuel transfers over water presents the highest risk of a sizeable oil spill. The rule gave high-rate deliverers a year to craft plans showing how they will comply with the new measure.
"Our first priority is preventing spills from occurring. But should a spill happen, pre-booming for oil transfers is our first line of defense," said Dale Jensen, program manager for Ecology's Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program.
Jensen estimates more than 41 million gallons of oil are delivered over Washington waters every day. From the end of November 2006 through September 2007, there were nearly 14,000 regulated oil transfers reported:
"Pre-booming will help prevent damage to our natural resources. This is especially important in an already threatened Puget Sound where the bulk of oil transfers are occurring," Jensen said. If a spill happens, he said, pre-booming can help reduce:
In addition to the high-rate deliverers, there are 22 land-based, mobile tank truck companies that typically transfer oil at less than 500 gallons per minute. These firms are required to provide plans to Ecology showing how they will ensure that oil transfers and any spill responses are done in a way that doesn't put employees or the environment at risk.
Starting in November 2006, vessels and facilities - including for the first time, mobile tank trucks - that deliver more than 100 gallons of oil over water must give Ecology up to 24-hour notice before transferring oil. Since then, more than 12.5 billion gallons of oil has been transferred from regulated facilities and vessels.
Sometimes a facility can't pre-boom transfers due to high winds, poor weather or fast-moving currents. To comply with the new rule, companies must have additional equipment on hand for a rapid spill response in case of a spill under those adverse conditions.
On Oct. 23, 2007, Ecology issued an Administrative Order to the BP Cherry Point refinery near Ferndale because the company reported it won't have its planned pre-booming system in place by Oct. 26.
BP was well on their way to meeting the deadline but suffered significant delays after a construction accident. When the incident investigation is complete, BP will proceed with construction with an interim compliance plan that includes enhanced spill response capabilities until their project is done.
Jensen said even though the new pre-booming requirement won't go into effect until the end of the week, Ecology has already built a strong program to ensure that companies comply with the rule.
For example, companies must notify Ecology up to 24 hours before they transfer oil so the agency can monitor the activity. Ecology hired five full-time field inspectors. And Ecology will conduct aircraft surveys to determine if all regulated transfers are being pre-boomed.
"We know that more than a quarter of the facilities started pre-booming their fueling operations before the deadline, and some have been doing so for years," he said. "But we also need to make sure that we have a level playing field - and that every company that must comply is meeting the requirement."
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Media Contacts:
Curt Hart, 360-407-6990; cell 360-480-7908 (char461@ecy.wa.gov)
Mary-Ellen Voss, 360-790-7491; pager 360-956-8296
For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/prevention/preventiontable.htm
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
