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Duchesne • Authorities in this rural county believe they have contained the oil from a suspected dumping in the Strawberry River, but not before it made its way into the Duchesne River more than 10 miles from the dump site.
Globs of petroleum were found sticking to the stream banks next to the Duchesne County Fairgrounds in Duchesne on Friday afternoon. The substance moved a half-mile through Duchesne, through some residential areas, and into the Duchesne River, according to Mike Lefler, director of the Duchesne County Fire and Emergency Management Office. But booms set up nearly a dozen miles away near Bridgeland had not captured any.
Duchesne County Commissioner Kent Peatross thinks someone dumped "production water" — which comes from oil wells — into the Strawberry River next to the Duchesne County Fairgrounds. Production water is processed at the well to remove as much oil as possible, but the remaining oily water is supposed to be trucked to a disposal site. Peatross suspects one of those trucks was dumped near the fairgrounds instead. The companies involved keep logs of all trips, so that information should aid the investigation, he said.
Lefler couldn't confirm Peatross' theory, but the investigation continues.
Oil from the spill has been sent to the Department of Water Quality for analysis,which will take several days to process, Lefler said.
Law enforcement officers also are examining a set of tire tracks at the suspected dump site, said Leallen Blackhair, Ute tribe energy and mineral compliance coordinator.
Totals on how much oil was dumped won't be available until the cleanup is complete, Blackhair said, but he was pleased with the quick response after it was reported at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
The county was able to shut down headgates to slow the flow of the river and decrease its level, making it easier for booms to pick up any chemicals and oil from the spill.
"Everything went perfectly," he said.
The plan is to make sure the areas farthest from the dump point are clear of oil and then leapfrog backward, cleaning and absorbing as they go, Blackhair said.
Horses, deer, beaver and fish were seen behaving normally and did not appear to be affected by the spill, said Misty Bruns, who is in charge of homeland security emergency management for the Ute tribe.
Responders also were able to shut gates in the river that divert water into irrigation canals of area farmers, safeguarding their crops.
"We want to protect the individual as well," Bruns said.
The type of oil dumped is called paraffinic crude, which clumps together when it hits something cold. Crews from several agencies, includingthe tribe, were attempting to get as much oil cleaned up before the sun melted the globs and made it more difficult to capture, Blackhair said. North Salt Lake-based Enviro Care Inc., an environmental cleanup company, also was suctioning oil from the river. Chevron Oil Co. offered assistance in booms and manpower, but a Chevron spokesman said the company had nothing to do with the spill.
"Right now we just want to contain the spill and clean up areas we know have oil," Blackhair said. "Then we'll expand to make sure it hasn't reached any farther."