Anadarko Oil Spill: Timeline & Documents

An aerial view of the Champlin 41-4 #1 tank battery spill, taken on February 19, 2018.

On February 12, 2018, historical impacts were discovered during abandonment activities at the Champlin 41-4 #1 production facility. The release became State reportable on February 14, 2018, due to the quantity of impacted soil excavated. Soil excavation activities are ongoing and will be summarized in a forthcoming Supplemental Form 19 Spill/Release Report.

Here’s a timeline of the events surrounding the State reportable release at the Champlin 41-4 #1 production facility, operated by Kerr McGee, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum.

These flowlines were removed from the site by January 29, 2018.

January 29: Flowlines Removed

Anadarko files a report with the COGCC indicating flowlines have been removed from the tank battery.

February 12: Historical Impact Discovery

From the Form 19 report filed by Anadarko, “historical impacts were discovered during abandonment activities” at the site.

February 14: Release Becomes “State Reportable”

The release becomes “State reportable on February 14, 2018, due to the quantity of impacted soil excavated.

COGCC Rule 906.b.(1) states:

Spills/releases of E&P waste or produced fluid exceeding five (5) barrels, including those contained within lined or unlined berms, shall be reported on COGCC Spill/Release Report, Form 19.

While the reported quantity of spilled oil is greater than 5 barrels, an upper bound on the amount spilled has not yet been supplied by the operator. They are required to report this in a supplemental Form 19.

February 16: Town of Erie Notification

On February 16, Anadarko notified the Town of Erie of the spill, which alerted us in the community,  at the Erie Protectors,  and the media of the incident.

February 18: Denver Post Interview

On February 18, Christiaan van Woudenberg met with Bruce Finley of the Denver Post to take a look at the spill site. Read about it here.

February 19: KDVR Interview

Christiaan van Woudenberg spoke with Joe St. George of Fox 31 News about the aging oil & gas infrastructure in Erie.

On February 19, Christiaan spoke with Joe St. George of Fox 31 News at the site about his concerns. “We get desensitized to this. This is not normal, this is not OK,” he said during the interview. There were 619 spills in Colorado in 2017, and there have already been 83 spills reported in 2018.

February 19: COGCC Spill Report

On February 19, a spill report was finally made available on the COGCC web site. We’ll update here once the supplemental report detailing the full extent of the spill becomes available.

Erie town trustees tell angry residents they were unaware of venting near school, launch probe

With the support of neighbors from surrounding communities, Erie residents voiced their concerns about the volatile organic compounds released at the plug & abandon operations near Aspen Ridge Preparatory School and the Kiddie Academy of Erie.

Continue reading “Erie town trustees tell angry residents they were unaware of venting near school, launch probe”

Erie neighbors concerned about new gas pipeline close to homes

Once again, Jennifer Kovaleski from 7News is in Vista Ridge to talk about fracking. This time, it’s the raw natural gas gathering lines being installed within 100 ft of existing homes by Anadarko Petroleum. Once they start building units in the Red Tail Ranch development, homes will be even closer to this line.

Continue reading “Erie neighbors concerned about new gas pipeline close to homes”

Erie neighbors host demonstration in front of nearby fracking site

The Erie Protectors hosted a community photo shoot to replicate a photo taken by concerned community members in December 2014 to protest Crestone Peak Resources’ activities at the Waste Connections and Pratt sites just north of Vista Ridge in Erie, Colorado. We had a wonderful morning meeting like-minded neighbors opposed to oil & gas activities in our neighborhoods.

Continue reading “Erie neighbors host demonstration in front of nearby fracking site”

Ritter, Romer should encourage renewables, not fracking

Fort Collins resident Kim Miller writes:

Fracking is not good for Colorado. Even with its tough regulations Colorado has experienced earthquakes, a house explosion and continually poor air quality due to fracking and its waste water disposal.

Read the full article at http://www.dailycamera.com/letters/ci_31321776/kim-miller-ritter-romer-should-encourage-renewables-not , and check out the numerous links she’s included to other resources and newsworthy items.