Port Angeles landfill mystery oil release

(Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.)

Oil appeared in an excavation on the beach side of the sea wall. About 20 gallons has been recovered to date.A project to determine the source and extent of the oil is being cooperatively managed by Ecology, City of Port Angeles, Port Angeles Fire Department, and Glaicer Construction.

Summary information

Date of incident:  October 5, 2007
Location:

Ediz Hook at Port Angeles, WA

Type of incident: Old oil mixture
Cause of incident: Under investigation
Responsible party: Unknown
Release area after excavation of 170 yards of contaminated soils and replacement with “toe anchor” rock.

Photo shows the release area after excavation of 170 yards of contaminated soils and replacement with “toe anchor” rock. The area was left open to allow for recovery of any residual oil that may float to the surface of the water table. It will be covered when completely clean.

Status updates

October 12, 2007

The location is about 2 miles west of Ediz Hook at Port Angeles on the beach at the base of the slope where the City is constructing a sea wall.

  • On October 5th, oil appeared in an excavation on the beach side of the sea wall.
  • About 20 gallons has been recovered to date.
  • Analyses of samples confirmed that the material is oil.
  • The source of the oil is undetermined at this time.

A project to determine the source and extent of the oil is being cooperatively managed by Ecology, City of Port Angeles, Port Angeles Fire Department, and Glaicer Construction. It is also being coordinated with the USCG Seattle Sector.

  • 170 cubic yards of oil contaminated sand excavated
  • 7000 gallons of oily water removed
  • Preliminary estimate total volume of oil in sand and water removed is 200 - 400 gallons
There was no obvious source for the oil, such as a buried tank or drums.  Incident command feels they were able to excavate the whole area that was contaminated and that no more oil exists in that particular location.

 

Media contact

Ty Keltner, Media contact, Ty.Keltner@ecy.wa.gov, 360-407-6990