None of the first four families who were told they could return to their homes in a Mayflower subdivision more than a week after an Exxon Mobil pipeline ruptured, spilling thousands of gallons of crude oil into their neighborhood, has chosen to return at this point, a health official said Tuesday.
On Monday, at least one family had planned to return after ventilation of the home was complete, a 24-hour process.
“I think they’ve changed their mind,” said Ed Barham, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Health. “I think nobody has decided they want to go back in until we’re a little further along to say it’s safe.”
As a result, he said, no other houses were being ventilated Tuesday.
On whether the department thought the homeowners were wise not to return yet, Barham said, “People just have to evaluate that for themselves. We’re certainly going to try to provide them with the most sound, scientific opinion we can give.”
Later Tuesday, Exxon Mobil Corp., along with state, federal and local officials, issued a news release that said, “The Arkansas Department of Health recommended that air quality testing be undertaken in and around the homes before residents return.”
Residents of 22 houses of the Northwoods subdivision have been evacuated since the 20-inch Pegasus pipeline, which runs 2 feet beneath the ground and can carry up to 95,000 barrels of oil aday, ruptured about 2:45 p.m. March 29. Oil gushed onto grass and flowed down a residential street and into two drainage ditches.
Documents obtained Tuesday under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act show that authorities first learned that “a small amount of oil” had reached a cove, or backwater, of Lake Conway, during a flyover of the area late March 31 or early April 1. No one disclosed that finding to the public until Friday.
“The oil has been boomed off and did not enter Lake Conway,” according to a progress report prepared by a federal on-scene coordinator and under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency letterhead.
Workers had earlier built a series of dams and other barriers to prevent oil from entering the cove or the lake.
“We do not have any reason to think that there’s anything that’s gotten to the lake,” Barham said Tuesday.
The documents, released by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, also indicate the evacuations were essential because of the oil’s presence and “elevated levels” of benzine and other volatile organic compounds. Such compounds are chemicals that contain carbon and “easily become vapors or gases,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Pegasus pipeline runs about 850 miles from Patoka, Ill., to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
A resident who heard the rupture and reported it to authorities has said it happened about 2:45 p.m.
“The break in the line was isolated, and the pipeline stopped leaking oil at approximately [3 a.m. March 30],” according to a progress report prepared Sunday by a federal coordinator for state and federal officials.
Cleanup crews have removed 28,000 barrels of oily water from the area, and Exxon Mobil estimates about 5,000 barrels spilled after the rupture. A barrel holds 42 gallons of oil.
A forecast of heavy rain for today had emergency responders on guard and increased concerns about allowing residents back into their homes.
“Storm preparations include securing equipment and strengthening of a containmentsystem protecting the main body of Lake Conway by installing additional boom in an adjacent cove,” the joint news release said.
“We’re a little concerned about the bad weather … and how that might affect what our situation is,” Barham said.
One concern is that some “oil might wash up” from storm drains if any had flown into those drains in the first place, he said.
The number of wildlife endangered or killed by the oil also is higher than previously disclosed, based on a report also provided by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
That report, dated Monday, put the number of creatures captured - birds, mammals, reptiles and “other” types at 139. Of those, 30 were dead when found - not counting seven fish, most, if not all, that had died for reasons other than the oil spill. Forty-six creatures, including 44 reptiles, have been euthanized since they were captured, the report said.
A daily news release gave different numbers. It said 23 ducks, a nutria and five turtles have died and that rescue workers were caring for 16 oiled ducks. Wildlife experts released a beaver and a lizard Tuesday.
“Fish in the main body of Lake Conway have not been affected,” the release said, and water samples confirm the lake remains oil-free.
Documents indicated one worker had been injured. Exxon Mobil spokesman Kimberly Jordan said the worker suffered a mild abrasion.
The spill of Canadian crude oil has become a political as well as a safety issue, especially relating to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. That proposed pipeline would carry crude south from Canada to Nebraska at a rate of 830,000 barrels per day, according to energy company TransCanada’s website.
A Washington-based organization called All Risk, No Reward Coalition issued a brief statement Tuesday saying, “With spills, it’s not a matter of if - but when.”
Alberta, Canada, Premier Alison Redford “and Canadian oil companies may benefit from the pipeline, but folks here at home will be the ones taking on all of the risk, without any reward,” the group said.
While in Washington on Tuesday, Redford said there was little need to worry about the proposed project because it would be “state-of-the-art technology” and that accidents involving the transport of crude oil are overall “very isolated,” Reuters reported.
In San Francisco, Eddie Scher, a spokesman for the Sierra Club, said he hoped the U.S. State Department would grant his and other environmental groups’ request to extend the comment period on the proposed pipeline by 45 days in light of the Mayflower spill.
“We’re pretty confident that it will be extended,” Scher said. “This is a serious accident.”
A State Department spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.
Information for this article was contributed by Chelsea Boozer of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/10/2013