THE
Wayne & Garfield County
INSIDER
Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Bryce • Tropic • Antimony • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder • Fremont • Loa • Lyman
Thursday, June 12, 2014 • Issue # 1052
Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville
BLM-Utah Releases Final Report on Little Valley Wash Oil Spill
Inaugural Arts and the Park, Light on the Reef Event a Sweet Success
Increased monitoring program to protect Monument lands
KANAB - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today released the final report on an oil spill in Little Valley Wash. The report found no immediate threats to wildlife, vegetation and water and recommended increased monitoring and additional staff training to protect this location within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). The report is available on the Monument website at: www. ut.blm.gov/monument. Little Valley Wash—and intermittent drainage southwest of Escalante, Utah—is downstream from the producing Upper Valley Unit oil field, which is located both on Forest Service and BLM-managed lands. Working in coordination with the Dixie National Forest, which manages the majority of these lands, and with representatives from the current field operator—Citation Oil & Gas Corporation—the BLM conducted field inspections with petroleum engineering technicians, natural resource specialists, geologists, botanists, biologists, and other experts in resource management to determine the extent and impacts of the spill. According to the final report, at least three separate events—one recent leak and two decades-old spills—deposited substantial oil residues in the wash. The two older spills are estimated to have left a deposit of some 550 barrels of oil. The most recent leak, a small pipeline spill in December 2013 that was first reported by hikers on March 22, 2014, was probably less than 10 barrels of a mixture of mostly saline water with some oil. The report concluded that the oily deposits, which are 54 stream-miles from the Escalante River, appear to be relatively stable and, if undisturbed, pose no immediate threat to wildlife, vegetation and water in the wash. An analysis of fresh water seeping over the older deposits in Little Valley Wash indicates that State of Utah surface water quality standards are met and the water poses no threat to wildlife. “We will continue to mon-
itor natural resource conditions in Little Valley Wash, paying particular attention to the quality of water flowing from seeps and the health of the native vegetation to determine if there is any long-term damage to natural resources,” said acting Monument manager Cynthia Staszak. On April 1, 2014, the BLMUtah issued a written order to Citation requiring the company to report any release or spill of any volume to BLM within 24 hours of the event, to be followed by a written report within 15 days. Prior to this order, Citation was not required to make oral or written reports for liquid spills of less than 10 barrels; Citation logged the December, 2013 pipeline leak and repair, meeting these requirements. “We recognize the age of the field and the potential for future infrastructure failures. We will be working with Citation to conduct a thorough assessment of the Upper Valley oil field infrastructure—including pipelines and monitoring equipment—that could fail and lead to another spill event,” said Juan Palma, BLM-Utah State Director. The BLM will also be asking Citation to prepare and implement a new surface use plan for the field. The new plan will be developed in consultation with the Dixie National Forest and BLM. The BLM and Citation will continue monitoring conditions in the Little Valley Wash, particularly water quality, native vegetation health and the stability of the oil deposits, and will be developing a contingency plan should the oil become remobilized or threaten Monument resources. Cleaning up the Little Valley Wash spills without causing more extensive damage to resources in the narrow, boulder-choked wash presents a challenge. At present, the best option with the least impact to resources is to leave the deposits undisturbed and to rely on natural biodegradation. Additional information and the final report can be found on the Monument’s website at www.ut.blm.gov/monument. —Bureau of Land Management
WGCI Photo
Rocks, soil and a young, 4 ft. pine tree in Little Valley Wash coated with oil virtually to its top leaves are evidence of a recent oil spill in the wash.
REGIONAL Weather forecast for some but not all regions represented in our newspaper coverage area
Thurs. JUNE 12 - wed. JUNE 18 MOSTLY SUNNY all week with highs in the 80s, lows in the 40s. Winds 10-20 mph. No precipitation is in the forecast.
TORREY/CAPITOL REEF .N. P. - The first annual Arts and the Park, Light on the Reef event, co-sponsored by the Entrada Institute and Capitol Reef National Park, attracted professional and budding artists and a crowd of art appreciators during the June 6 and 7 event held in Capitol Reef National Park and in Torrey. Thirty-four painters registered for the plein air program, which focused on water color media, and almost 40 teens and youth participated in the event. A teen division included a combined photography and water color project, and the youth division consisted of a kite making competition. Above, works from the two day plein air event were displayed to an appreciative audience prior to auction. At right, Christopher McNey, from Teasdale, received the Blue Ribbon in the kite-making category. We'll have a full report next week on the artists and the results of the plein air competition. —Insider
Investigations Made Into Hatchtown Dam Break Salt Lake Tribune Stories, Cont'd
Flood'S Crest Imperils Otter Creek Dam Salt Lake Tribune, May 27, 1914 To Investigate Cause of Break, Says Governor Executive Adds That the State Has a Moral Obligation at Stake in the Matter. Attorney General Of Same Opinion Records of Former State Engineer Tanner of Little Value as to Work on Project. That a most rigid investigation of the causes for the breaking of the Hatchtown dam will be made by the state was the statement made by Governor William Spry last night. He said: The state engineer, W.D. Beers, is now on the ground and has been ordered by telegraph to ascertain as nearly as possible the causes which led up to the break. I have had a conference with the attorney general and the secretary of state in regard to the matter, and we are of a mind that the whole matter should be sifted to the bottom. Governor Spry also said that the dam would be immediately reconstructed and that every effort would be made to care for the losses
by the farmers. He added: The state has a moral obligation at stake. It is necessary that we supply water to those people in accordance with the contracts they have for purchase from the state. In addition, there is a moral obligation to care for the losses that have been sustained. It is probable that there will be an appropriation by the next legislature to take care of the matter. Awaiting Information. I am not informed whether the state is liable for damages that may have accrued to people not owning lands in the project or whether the state could be Hatchtown Dam Cont’d on page 3
Last week, we continued the story in our second installment of the May 25, 1914 Hatchtown Dam failure and flood on the Sevier River. Even as the flood was threatening both the Otter Creek and Piute Reservoir impoundments, investigations were already underway into the cause of the dam break. Utah's Governor Spry said he would "sift to the bottom" of the causes related to the dam failure, and he also stated that the dam would be "immediately reconstructed." (This obviously did not happen.) However, a probe into the records of the state engineer's office showed that records related to the acceptance of the dam's engineering, which should have been submitted by contractor D.B. Brinton of Holladay, were either never submitted, lost or removed from the engineer's office. Official correspondence letters related to the project were shown to have been torn from the engineer's letter-copy books. We have an additional short Tribune story from a few days after the flood that describes how Mr. and Mrs. Warren Taylor, of Loa, escaped the flood. This is our third installment of stories from the Salt Lake Tribune from May, 1914.
Courtesy Albert Antrei, Battening-Down Hatch
A circa 1984 photo shows remains of the spillway of Hatchtown Dam. In the background is Flake Meadow. Phone: 435-826-4400 Fax 1-888-370-8546 PO BOX 105 Escalante, Utah 84726 snapshot@live.com
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