In Western Colorado an underground spill/plume containing unknown hydrocarbon-chemical liquids, measuring 200 feet by 170 feet in circumference, and about 14 feet deep, continues to flow and remains uncontained. The spill is located 60 feet from Parachute Creek in Garfield County on property owned by Williams Midstream and WPX Energy. Parachute Creek flows into the Colorado River.

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Thousands of gallons of groundwater contaminated by hydrocarbons have been collected from a leak near Williams Midstream's Parachute Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant north of the town of Parachute, located in Garfield County, in western Colorado. [See KKCO Channel 11 News- Grand Junction:   UPDATE: Leak contaminates 60,000 gallons of groundwater .]

First detected on March 8, the spill had not yet been stopped as of March 20. On that date, according to Williams Midstream's spokeswoman Donna Gray, there was still "free-flowing hydrocarbon underground." The situation, she reported, is "status quo." [See Post Independent:   Parachute Creek spill is "status quo,' Williams says .]

The spill/plume is located on a pipeline right-of-way, owned by Williams Midstream and a related company, WPX Energy. It runs along County Road 215, four miles north of the town of Parachute, between the Parachute Creek Gas Plant and Parachute Creek. The plume is 60 feet from the northern bank of Parachute Creek, which flows into the Colorado River.

The Cause of the Spill and Its Makeup Are Still Unknown.

As of March 20, the source of the spill was still unknown, though there are underground pipelines and tanks in the spill/plume area. In addition, the flowing hydrocarbon liquid had not yet been identified.

"We don't know what it is," said Williams spokesman Tom Droege. "It looks like a lighter hydrocarbon, like a condensate, visually, but it has been taken to the lab for analysis."

Colorado Water Quality Control Division Director Steve Gunderson said that, based on its volume, the leak can be described as a "significant release," and that an impact on Parachute Creek remains "a real possibility."  

The underground hydrocarbon plume discovered on March 8 measures 200 feet by 170 feet in circumference, and about 14 feet deep. Many local residents can get a sense of its size by picturing the Glenwood Hot Springs pool (405 ft X 85 ft). If that pool were cut it in half, and the two halves placed side by side and made 14 feet deep, it would closely resemble the Parachute Creek plume.

Up to March 20, about 86,500 gallons of contaminated groundwater had been removed and a total of 139 barrels, or 5,800 gallons, of "oil" had been vacuumed. [See Upstream:   Williams continues clean-up at mystery 'seep' .]

Despite the magnitude of the spill, officials have been adamant in claiming that it represents no threat to drinking water. That message has been delivered in a number of television news broadcasts. [See KJCT Channel 8 - Grand Junction:  Parachute fuel leak will not affect drinking water ; Channel 9 News - Denver:   Colo. oil spill no threat to water, officials say ; Channel 4 News - Denver:   Officials Say Oil Spill Near Parachute No Threat To Water . The reassurances must be weighed, however, in the context of unduly delayed responses about the spill from responsible public officials.

Delayed Public Notification.

Groundwater contamination was discovered by March 8 near the Williams Parachute Creek Gas Plant, while Williams employees were excavating in preparation for construction of an addition to the plant. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) were all notified immediately following the discovery.

Controversy abounds, however, regarding public notifications of the leak. [See The Daily Sentinel:   Notification questions raised as leak probe continues .]

Depending on whom you talk to, Garfield County officials were notified immediately--or not.

The town of Parachute was not notified until March 13, which is a breach of notification protocols put in place in 2008. And news did not reach the media until March 16.

Local landowners potentially affected by the spill were not directly notified, and had to wait more than a week to find out about it from the media. As reported in The Daily Sentinel, some locals were very unhappy about the lack of public notification.

Perhaps most insidiously, as of March 19, the spill had not yet been reported on the website of the COGCC, even though the commission had been informed of it on March 8.

By March 20, however, the COGCC had issued cease-and-desist orders against Williams and WPX, and ordered that measures be taken to protect Parachute Creek. The commission is presently preparing to issue Williams a "Notice of Alleged Violation" and demand a long-term cleanup plan.

Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spokesman Todd Hartman said the DNR is also planning to issue a notice of alleged violation. And EPA spokesman Matthew Allen reported that the agency is working on issuing its own enforcement order outlining steps it wants taken to protect the creek.

The Colorado Wildlife Federation (CWF) has also chimed in, pointing out that the spill demonstrates that the COGCC needs to establish safe operational setbacks from waterways, an action the commission postponed five years ago. CWF also emphasized that better water monitoring might have led to an earlier detection of the contamination.

What We've Been Told about the Spill Is Probably Unreliable.

So far, everything we have been told, and are being told, about the Parachute Creek gas spill has come from government and industry "spokespersons." All of them, however, have a vested interest in suppressing the facts, magnitude, and overall seriousness of the situation. They are almost certainly withholding information, and we are probably being lied to. As revealed by their delayed responses regarding the spill, there were in fact initial cover-ups by Williams Midstream and WPX Energy, by Garfield County, by the COGCC, and by federal EPA officials.

At this point, its seems probable that contamination from the spill/plume has already severely impacted groundwater and will eventually reach Parachute Creek. We're not stupid.

Parachute Town Manager Bob Knight says locals haven't expressed much concern. The truth is, however, that local landowners have expressed their concerns to members of the media. Maybe, when it comes to oil & gas drilling, Parachute residents have given up on their town government, because town officials have their heads so far up the industry's ass-ets.

This Parachute Creek spill-plume-leak-seep is NOT in fact "status quo." This is not "just another spill." This is not business as usual. This is an ongoing underground flow of unidentified hydrocarbon-chemical liquid. Such an incident has never happened before. And it is not contained and it has not been stopped. It is happening right now !

Yet, the media are being kept out of the spill/plume site, and industry and government officials are doing everything they can to get the media to go away by controlling the flow of information and downplaying the situation.

We must hold Williams Midstream, WPX Energy, the COGCC, the EPA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and Garfield County accountable.

We must do everything we can to spread the word and keep this story alive.

We need a helicopter!

Bio:  

Peggy Tibbetts is the author of "Crazy b*tch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder," "PFC Liberty Stryker," and "Letters to Juniper," a 2012 Colorado Book Award finalist. She blogs at From the Styx and Advice from a Caterpillar.

Authors Website: http://www.peggytibbetts.net

Authors Bio:
Peggy Tibbetts is the author of "Crazy Bitch: Living with Canine Compulsive Disorder," "PFC Liberty Stryker," and "Letters to Juniper" a 2012 Colorado Book Award Finalist. She blogs at From the Styx and Advice from a Caterpillar.