United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
EPA 540-N-01-003
OSWER 9360.8-29
April 2001
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Oil Program Center 5203G
Volume 4 Number 2
TheU.S.EPA'sOil
Program Center Journal
Contents
3
Galapagos Islands Oil Spill
EPA Retains Gasoline Additive
Rules
Fire Boom and Fast Water
Containment Technology Tests
at Ohmsett Test Basin 3
Oiled Wildlife Care and Education
Center 4
Petrobras Oil Spill 4
Drilling in Alaska's Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge 4
DOT Announces Final USA Rule 5
Court Orders Coast Guard to
Require Oil-Leak Detectors 6
New Spill-Sentry System Introduced... 6
About The Oil DROP
The Oil DROP is an informal
journal, produced twice a year
by EPA's Oil Program Center.
The goal of the Oil DROP is to
attract a broad audience, includ-
ing concerned citizens and
environmental groups, on current
developments in environmental
news related to the Oil Spill
Program. The Oil DROP
covers oil spills in the United
States and throughout the world,
with an emphasis on the effects
these spills have on wildlife and
ecosystems. The Oil DROP is
available on the Oil Program
homepage at www.epa.gov/
oilspill.
Galapagos
Islands Oil
Spill
On January 16,2001,
an oil vessel, the
Ecuadorean-registered
Jessica, ran aground
on the easternmost
island of San Cristobal
in Ecuador's
Galapagos Islands. The Jessica
was on its way to deliver 240,000
gallons of diesel and bunker fuel to
a private tour boat operator and
Petro-commercial, which provides
the islands with fuel.
The accident, reported to be
caused by a navigational error by
the crew, tore three holes in the
hull of the 835-ton Jessica.
3
a
Ecuadorian Environment Minister
Rodolfo Rendon reported that
60,000 gallons were recovered
from the damaged vessel, but not
before 170,000 gallons had seeped
out of the ship's hull. The U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG), who arrived
to assist in the response, was able
to remove an additional 10,000
gallons from the ship on January
22,2001.
The primary concern regarding this
spill was the catastrophic affects it
could cause to the ecosystems of
the Galapagos Islands. The
Galapagos are made up of 19
islands and groups of small islets,
containing many unique species
which have evolved in relative
isolation in this distinctive environ-
ment. Charles Darwin developed
his theory of evolution while
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studying the species of the
Galapagos. There are approxi-
mately 5,000 species living in the
Galapagos, 40 percent of which are
native to the islands. Some of the
native species include the threat-
ened blue-footed boobies, sea lions,
marine iguanas, and giant land
tortoises, that live for more than
200 years.
Strong swells and currents swept
most of the oil away and have kept
the impact on wildlife
at a minimum. Much
of the diesel fuel was
spread as far as 40
miles from the ship and
has evaporated. The
bunker oil stayed
closer to the ship,
between six to ten
miles from the port.
There was considerable
fear that sea currents
would transfer more of the remain-
ing oil from the unstable Jessica to
the water or expand the spill even
further away to neighboring islands.
Close to 50 animals were rescued
by crews from the Galapagos
National Park, which acted as the
care center for the injured animals.
A dozen sea lions were coated with
oil and four pelicans have died.
There has not been an estimate as
to how the tropical fish of these
waters have been affected. Local
fisherman, who earn their liveli-
hood in the waters off the
Galapagos, helped with the rescue
and clean-up efforts by scooping
the oil in buckets from the surface
of the water.
A British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) report stated that charges
will be brought against the oil
company responsible for the
Jessica. Admiral Gonzalo Vega,
director of the agency that regulates
Ecuador's shipping, reported to the
press that Tarquino Arevalo, the
master of the ship, and 12 crew
members had been detained in San
Cristobal, but had not been offi-
cially arrested. The Ecuadorian
government has filed a lawsuit
against Arevalo and requested a
prison sentence.
USEPA Oil DROP-
April2001
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While the situation in the Galapagos
was critical, control and mitigation
operations kept the effects of the
spill at a minimum. A long process
of monitoring will be necessary to
determine what the long-term
effects of the spill will be on small
sea life, such as algae and sea
urchins, which do not always show
immediate signs of damage.
Environmental groups say that
directing navigational routes away
from the islands would add two
days travel time at most, but
shipping companies have been
reluctant to accept the extra cost
involved. However, this measure
may be necessary to prevent
another spill from happening in the
waters of the already fragile
Galapagos Islands.
EPA Retains
Gasoline Additive
Rules
California is caught up in a difficult
decision of what to use as an
additive to its gasoline to reduce
emissions, as required under the
1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
California Governor Gray Davis
must choose between using either
controversial methyl tertiary butyl
ether (MTBE) or Midwest-
produced ethanol to make cleaner
burning fuel.
MTBE is an inexpensive additive
that has caused considerable
controversy in recent months. It is
a known groundwater contaminant,
and has polluted California ground-
water and lakes at thousands of
sites in the state and nationwide.
MTBE had become so trouble-
some to the state that Davis
ordered its use to be banned in
California by December 31,2002.
Ethanol is a fuel made from corn.
However, it is much more costly
gallon-for-gallon than MTBE. The
California Energy Commission
estimates that gas prices could
increase 6 to 7 cents a gallon if
ethanol must be mixed into Califor-
nia gas - a cost to motorists of up
to a billion dollars annually.
Midwestern farmers find this
conundrum a cause for celebra-
tion. "With all these new ethanol
plants coming online, the demand is
going to have to grow with supply,"
said Wayne Newton, president of
an Iowa-based ethanol coopera-
tive. "All of us are being encour-
aged to expand production because
of the potential for the California
market."
Sufficient studies exist to prove
that oil companies can make
gasoline that meets air standards
without using either additive, say
opponents to the gas additive rule.
This finding has caused Davis and
California Senator Diane Feinstein
to petition EPA for a waiver from
the rule. However, the change
from the Clinton to the Bush
Administration left the petition
unaddressed. As a results, the gas
additive rule has been retained,
causing California to struggle with
a politically explosive dilemma.
The new administration may make
California's decision easier. Ann
Veneman, U.S. Agriculture
Secretary, reported in January that,
"Bush has made clear his interest
in ethanol and other alternative
fuels." Corn growers and environ-
mental groups are hopeful for it.
Fire Boom and Fast
Water Containment
Technology Tests at
Ohmsett Test Basin
The OHMSETT (Oil & Hazardous
Materials Simulated Environmental
Test Tank) facility in Leonardo,
New Jersey is the premiere oil spill
response test facility. During 2000,
the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Minerals
Management Service (MMS), and
the U.S. Coast Guard partnered
with private industry at OHMSETT
to put a variety of new oil spill
response technologies to the test.
OHMSETT, which is maintained
and operated by MMS, is the only
facility where full oil spill response
equipment testing, research, and
training can be conducted with oil
under controlled conditions,
including fire and wave simula-
tions.
In October 2000, MMS tested the
survivability and the effectiveness
of response equipment used during
in-situ burns, a technique pre-
scribed in oil spill contingency
plans for blowouts and pipeline
releases. OHMSETT's underwa-
ter propane bubbling system allows
for controlled fire simulation and
testing of fire boom tolerance to
heat at close proximity, without
producing soot. The evaluations
conducted aided in the preparation
of a new American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM)
standard guide for in-situ burning.
In August 2000, the U.S. Navy
and research partners conducted
fire resistant boom and boom
blanket tests in generated waves,
set to simulate realistic towing
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April 2001
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forces over the propane bubbler.
The U.S. Coast Guard Research
and Development Center, in pursuit
of better technology to contain and
clean up oil spills in fast currents,
tested a variety of fast water oil
spill recovery systems at
OHMSETT in 2000. Fast water
systems evaluated include a
dynamic inclined plane skimmer, a
series of diversion booms, a
floating oil sorbent recovery
system, flow diverters, and a rope
mop skim.
Oiled Wildlife Care
and Education
Center
February 20, 2001, marked the
grand opening of the newest
facility in the Oiled Wildlife Care
Network (OWCN), the San
Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care
and Education Center. This $2.7
million bird-rescue center is
managed by University of Califor-
nia Davis' Wildlife Health Center,
which is part of the School of
Veterinary Medicine. OWCN is
funded by the California Depart-
ment of Fish and Game's Office of
Spill Prevention and Response.
The San Francisco Bay Oiled
Wildlife Care and Education Center
can care for up to 1,000 birds that
Volunteers at San Francisco's
oiled wildlife center care for
an oiled bird.
may have inhaled, swallowed, or
been coated with oil. The 10,000
foot facility was custom designed in
collaboration with veterinarians and
oil spill response personnel with
expertise in dealing with oiled
wildlife. Dr. Jonna Mazet, UC
Davis veterinarian and OWCN
director, said she is relieved that the
new San Francisco regional center
was finished before it was needed.
The center has specialized areas for
holding, washing, drying, isolation
and recovery, food preparation, X-
rays, and necropsy. There are also
15 pools, which are each 15 feet
wide, and 3 large aviaries for
recovering birds.
When the center is not caring for
animals affected by an oil emer-
gency, it will be used as an educa-
tion center. Veterinarians, staff,
and volunteers will use the center
for oil spill rehabilitation training
and to care for some birds with
non-oil related injuries. The center
is also the new International Bird
Rescue Research Center Head-
quarters.
Tours and volunteer opportunities
at the San Francisco Bay Oiled
Wildlife Care and Education
Center may be arranged by calling
the International Bird Research
Center at (707) 207-0380.
Petrobras Oil
Spill
On February 16, 2001, a
ruptured pipeline spilled
13,200 gallons of diesel fuel
into the Atlantic Ocean near
the City of Curitiba in
Brazil's Serra do Mar region.
Over 200 people worked to
contain the lightweight fuel
that formed a slick stretching seven
miles along the coastline of Parana
and contaminated the natural
reserve of Mata Atlantica and five
rivers.
Environmental officials in Brazil's
southern Parana State fined the
state oil giant, Petrobras, $75
million for this minor fuel spill that
was viewed as a repeat offense.
Last July, Petrobras was fined $28
million after a ruptured pipeline
spilled 1.1 million gallons of oil into
the Iguacu River. In January 2000,
Petrobras was fined $52,000 after
an aging pipeline leaked 345,000
gallons of petroleum product into
Rio de Janeiro's GuanabaraBay.
Brazil's oil market regulator, the
National Petroleum Agency (NPA),
ordered that Petrobras was only to
continue use of the pipeline after it
presented solid proof and results
indicating that the pipeline is safe.
The pipeline is capable of trans-
porting 46,000 barrels of petroleum
products a day.
Petrobras has recently launched a
program to clean up Rio beaches
and is implementing a $1 billion
plan over the next three years to
make its pipelines safer and
establish environmental protection
centers to respond to accidents.
Drilling in Alaska's
Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
Senate Republican leaders intro-
duced an energy bill on February
26,2001, that would allow oil
drilling in Alaska's Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Ac-
cording to Republican congres-
sional leaders and Bush Adminis-
tration officials, the pressure to
pass this legislation in Congress
will mount this summer if the
energy crisis in California spreads
to other states. The proposed bill
includes many of the energy goals
USEPA Oil DROP-
April2001
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set forth in President Bush's
campaign, such as increased
domestic energy production,
regulatory reform for electricity,
and oil and gas exploration in the
ANWR. The bill also sets the goal
of reducing U.S. oil imports to 50
percent. Currently 56 percent of
the oil used in this country is
imported. Parties and organizations
joining in the controversy over
drilling in the ANWR, a 19 million-
acre territory in northern Alaska,
include Republicans, Democrats,
environmentalists, and oil compa-
nies. The two political parties
agree on the need to address
national energy policy, but differ
greatly on how to proceed with
new legislation.
While the United States may gain
energy and economic benefits from
drilling in the ANWR, there are
numerous environmental draw-
backs that are the chief concerns of
the bill's opponents. Environmen-
talists fear that drilling will not only
ruin the pristine condition of this
territory, but that it will also
endanger some of the 130 species
known to migrate in this area.
Canada's environment minister,
David Anderson, states that the
Arctic Refuge was originally
preserved for calving use by a
caribou herd that crosses the
boundary between the United
States and Canada. Canada
created two national parks to
protect areas used by the herd.
Another conflict of interest sur-
rounding the drilling comes from
the Eskimo residents living in the
refuge. Most of the Inupiat
Eskimo residents, who own shares
in the Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation, support the drilling
because it would benefit the
corporation. The Inupiat's neigh-
bors, the Neets'aii Gwicin, are
strongly opposed to the drilling
because their cultural tradition is
tied to the caribou.
Speculation on how much oil is
present in the ANWR has the
scientific community at odds with
the idea of drilling. The ANWR
could be home to millions of
barrels of oil; current estimates
range from 3 to 11 million barrels.
Some scientists believe that drilling
would significantly disrupt the
ecosystems in the ANWR, while
others believe that technology has
improved drastically over the
history of oil operations and would
cause little disturbance.
A scientific panel, convened by the
National Research Council, has
begun a study of the impact of oil
and gas drilling in Alaska during the
last 30 years. This 18-month, $1.5
million study will look at the
different impacts of oil develop-
ment, focusing on the biological,
physical, social, and economic
effects. The results of this study
may provide solutions to the on-
going debate on whether or not the
United States should begin drilling
in the ANWR.
DOT Announces
Final USA Rule
The U.S. Department of
Transportation's (DOT) Office of
Pipeline Safety announced stron-
ger safety and environmental
standards that may affect nearly
87 percent of federally-regulated
hazardous liquid pipelines. The
rule includes mandatory testing for
pipelines transporting liquids
through populated areas, unusually
sensitive environmental areas
(USAs), and waterways used to
transport goods and supplies.
The rule was promulgated in
response to DOT's belief that
recent severe accidents could have
been adverted if operators had
better information available about
their pipelines. Special attention is
given in the rule to USAs, which
are particularly vulnerable to
environmental damage from a
hazardous-liquid pipeline release.
The rule requires that the results of
the pipeline tests, once voluntary
and now mandatory, be made
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April 2001
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available for the government to
review.
Commenting on the new rule and
the nation's pipeline system,
former U.S. Transportation
Secretary Rodney Slater said, "As
the system expands to meet our
growing energy needs, we must
employ all reasonable means to
ensure that the people and environ-
ments near pipelines are better
protected." The final USA rule,
which responds to those needs,
appears in the December 21, 2000,
issue of the Federal Register.
Court Orders Coast
Guard to Require Oil-
Leak Detectors
A federal appeals court has ordered
the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to
require oil tankers to install devices
to detect leaking oil. The three-
judge appeals panel in Washington,
B.C., unanimously held that
Congress gave USCG a clear
mandate to require the devices
within one year of the passage of
the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of
1990. OPA is a package of spill
prevention measures that was
enacted in the wake of the disas-
trous Exxon Valdez spill as well as
the Ashland Oil Company brittle
fracture tank failure. "A nine-year
delay is unreasonable given a clear
one-year timeline," wrote Chief
Judge Harry Edwards in his opinion
written for the court.
The suit was filed by Bluewater
Network and Ocean Advocates in
response to a 1999 USCG an-
nouncement that it would not
require oil tankers to install equip-
ment that sounds an alarm when
the oil lever or pressure drops in a
cargo tank, indicating that some of
the liquid has escaped. Such
instruments would have alerted
USCG inspectors immediately to
the dangerous leak that developed
in the tanker Neptune Dorado
when it sailed into San Francisco in
September 2000, according to
Russell Long of Bluewater Net-
work.
If the Neptune Dorado had in-
stalled leak detectors, Long said,
Bay Area inspectors would have
known just by looking at the
instrument panel on the tanker's
bridge that it had lost oil. The
tanker spent two weeks in the Bay
Area before it was found that
more than 147,000 gallons of oil
had leaked into the ship's ballast
tanks, where it could have ex-
ploded.
Marine safety officers at Coast
Guard Island in Alameda said the
spill detection devices might have
given them warning, but Com-
mander Steven Boyle said the
vessel's crew, who knew about the
leak and lied to inspectors, could
have easily tampered with the
detection devices and hidden the
problem.
"If they're bent on covering it up,
they could fool the meter and
therefore fool the inspector who
checked the meter," Boyle said.
Long said detection devices could
be designed with the ability to
create an independent log of
pressure and volume readings (to
track any losses of oil) in order to
prevent record tampering, but that
manufacturers would have little
incentive to design such devices
until USCG requires tankers to use
them.
According to the court record,
USCG officials had previously
concluded that the leak detection
devices were insufficiently sensi-
tive to alert crews to an oil leak
before significant amounts of fuel
had been released. They subse-
quently postponed the imposition of
the rule until better devices could
be developed. Bluewater Network
and Ocean Advocates countered
that some warning was better than
none, and that the devices were
ordered because USCG had a
record of undetected spills on
tankers operating in the dark or in
rough weather.
In a recent report, USCG credited
OPA enforcement with a 50
percent drop in the number of oil
spills exceeding 10,000 gallons
(compared to levels before 1991)
and a 50 percent drop in the
amount of oil spilled for every
million gallons shipped in the
United States.
The appeals court ordered USCG
to promptly issue a rule ordering
tankers to install leak detectors.
New Spill-Sentry
System Introduced
The following announcement
does not constitute EPA endorse-
ment or EPA approval of the
product described. It is intended
only to notify the response
community of newly available
equipment.
Applied Microsystems LTD has
recently announced the release of
a new Spill-Sentry monitoring
system for the detection of spilled
hydrocarbon products. The
system is designed to detect crude
and petroleum-based products
floating on water or in suspension
near the surface of the water and
to raise an alarm if a spill is
detected.
USEPA Oil DROP-
April2001
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Side-profile of the Spill-Sentry,
a new oil detection technology
The Spill-Sentry system is com-
posed of buoys, interconnect
cables, and a base station. Sensing
buoys detect the presence of oil
floating on the water surface, or
suspended in the top 5 cm (2
inches) of the water, at the buoys'
location. A site survey is used to
determine the best sites to place the
buoys for adequate coverage. The
system actually detects the oil by
shining an ultraviolet light up to the
surface from 5 cm below. If oil is
present, it will fluoresce and radiate
light at longer wavelengths than
normal. This data is retrieved by
the base station and compared to
normal background levels by the
Spill-Sentry software in order to
determine an appropriate response.
The Spill-Sentry uses a statistical
approach to determine the level
required to trigger an alarm. The
software accumulates historical
data from each buoy and computes
the average and standard deviation
for each fluorescence channel.
Users can specify that new data
must exceed the background level
by a chosen number of standard
deviations in order to trigger an
alarm. The system can also utilize
radio modems and solar paneling to
communicate with the base station,
if interconnect cables are not
practical.
The Spill-Sentry base station
collects information sent in from
the buoy units. A minimum base
system is composed of a computer,
a computer telephone card, and the
Spill-Sentry software. The soft-
ware provides a visual display of
any buoys that are being used as
monitoring devices, and will
indicate if the buoys have detected
any leaks. Other items that may
be necessary for the base station
include an uninterruptible power
supply for the computer, a power
supply for the buoys, and a radio
modem.
For more information on the Spill-
Sentry system, contact Applied
Microsystems LTD at
1-800-663-8721 or
www. appliedmicrosy stems, com.
Beatriz Oliveira, Editor,
Oil Program Center
703/603-1229
David Lopez, Director
Oil Program Center
703/603-8760
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Mail Code 5203G
Washington, D.C. 20460
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April 2001
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