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Valero (26003), Norco

Releases of Slurry Oil

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date		 Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
80516

2005-07-14		T-150-8 pump
Cause: A half inch section of pipe that connects the T-150-8 pump to a pressure gauge had broken off the pump while the pump was in service.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Oil entrained in the soil is being removed by excavation for discposal in a non-hazardous waste landfill. Investigation not complete. Promised to collect soil samples showing the cleanup levels achieved.		2,100.0 gallons
No LDEQ Reported

2013-09-12		transfer line at Dock 5
Cause: On September 12, we discovered at approximately 05:30 that a leak had developed on a 16" line while in use to transfer slurry oil to a vessel at our Dock 5. This resulted in a 15 gallon slurry oil spill to the batture [i.e. land]. The volume of oil that entered the river cannot be confirmed, but is estimated on the order of 10 gallons. The density of the oil caused it to sink to the bottom, which does not allow for accurate quantification of the total volume that entered the river. This failure is attributed to corrosion under the insulation of this transfer line. A repair plan for the corrosion was being executed as a result of the 2012 inspection, but a small, intermittent leak on an adjacent water line caused the corrosion at this point to be accelerated. The water leak was discovered as a result of this incident investigation. The known damage of the insulation on certain locations of the transfer line also contributed to this moisture driven corrosion.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Once the leak was identified, the line was isolated and boom was deployed into the river. Containment and absorbent pads were placed under the leak site to capture any residual oil and a vacuum track was deployed to remove the remaining contents of the line. Absorbent boom was placed on the shore to prevent additional oil from going to the river and to capture oil possibly in the water already. Our contracted oil spill response organization was mobilized to assist with the cleanup. The oil that spilled to the dirt was removed with a vacuum truck. The in the area was excavated and placed into roll out boxes for disposal. The oil spilled to the river sank to the sediment. Some oil was captured using absorbent boom or was found on the side of the docked barges. This oil was removed and disposed as non-hazardous waste. The following corrective measure have or will be implemented to prevent this recurrence: 1) Repair the line by replacing sections of old pipe. 2) Take the Reduced Crude Line out of service, inspect and repair if necessary before putting back into service. 3) Review incident with all Complex I/SGS (dock operators) personnel for improved hazard recognition. 4) Develop an overall inspection plan on the remaining, insulated batture piping. 5) Confirm that all batture piping from Dock 4 to Dock 5 is inspected.		25.0 gallons