Diesel Fouls Marsh Near San Francisco

I'm posting this because it's not far from where I live. :'(


Diesel Fouls Marsh Near San Francisco

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040429/D828O5900.html

Apr 29, 6:32 PM (ET)

By TERENCE CHEA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A pipeline that pumps petroleum from refineries in the San Francisco Bay area ruptured, gushing diesel fuel into a marsh that serves as a key nesting ground for migratory birds and prompting an emergency cleanup effort Thursday.

The exact amount spilled into Suisun Marsh, about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, won't be known until the pipe is fixed and refilled, officials said. A worst-case scenario put the damage at 1 million gallons, said Mark Merchant, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, the spill may involve only a few hundred gallons, said Dana Michaels, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game, and was limited to a diked area of roughly 600 acres, so that the fuel can't escape to the rest of the marsh.

About 50 workers from state and federal agencies were using containment booms and absorbent pads to clean up the spill, which left a sheen atop the water, said Jerry Englehardt, a spokesman for Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, which owns the pipeline. He described the spill as "relatively small."

The pipeline, which carries fuel from San Francisco Bay area refineries to Reno, Nev., ruptured sometime Tuesday. Kinder-Morgan noticed a drop in pipeline pressure around 6 p.m. Tuesday night and shut down a section of the pipeline, Michaels said.

Environmental officials were told about it Wednesday, and the leak was expected to be repaired late Thursday.

The Suisun Marsh is considered the state's second-largest natural marsh, according to Greg Green, a biologist for Memphis, Tenn.-based Ducks Unlimited, a wetlands conservation group. But it's also a highly managed area, with large sections diked off to control the flow of water.

"It's an important area for biological purposes," Green said. The marsh covers 57,000 acres and is frequented by about 700,000 birds, including migratory shorebirds and raptors.