The Environmental Protection Agency has alleged a Texas oil company underreported the extent of a crude oil spill after one of its pipes burst just north of a local waterway.
What’s happening?
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, authorities had to clean 6,800 barrels of crude oil spilled by a broken pipe north of Lake Arlington. Energy Transfer originally reported that only 2,600 barrels had spilled, roughly 285,000 gallons of oil in total.
The company previously noted the cause of the spill was “pipeline failure.” The final report also stated that the spill left no crude oil unrecovered, which is a relief for local environmentalists aware of the long-term impacts of poor spill management.
Underreporting these disasters is, unfortunately, not unique. Pemex Oil in Mexico was called out earlier this summer for hiding a massive oil spill off the coast of Dos Bocas.
Why is the underreporting of this oil spill concerning?
While no inland or coastal water was affected, according to the report, the spill contaminated the Fort Worth sewer system and the local Village Creek water treatment plant.
“Oil entered a sewer line that transported the oil to the Village Creek Waste Water Treatment plant,” the report said. “The oil was collected using skimmers and vac trucks at the treatment plant.”
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The treatment plant’s contamination has also forced the water department to use the nearby Village Creek Drying Beds to clean up the affected water. Once used as the area’s water treatment infrastructure, the drying beds have been home to over 320 species of birds in recent years.
Spills of any size can have adverse effects on the ecological well-being of habitats. Contamination can kill or drive off native species, and when biodiversity falters, ecosystems cannot provide much-needed carbon sinks that help curb the overheating of the planet.
What’s being done about this misrepresented oil spill?
Area birdwatchers flagged the discrepancy to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in July after they could no longer access the drying beds.
“I used to come out here with my father,” resident Colby Ayers said. “I’ve got so many memories tied to this place, so when the city does this, I take it personally.”
Other local environmental advocates are also concerned about how the spill is affecting air and water quality in the area, per the Star-Telegram.
The EPA’s statement is only a modicum of accountability for Energy Transfer’s underreporting, but the agency did follow-up readings of air and water quality following the spill.
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