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L/RAIN Temp: 37 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 26, 2002 PacifiCorp workers check out the turbines while Foss Environmental Services, far right, prepares to pump water and oil from the lower floors of the Prospect-area power plant. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Troubled water Concern lingers as cleanup crews mop up spilled oil along the upper Rogue resulting from a hydro plant water line break By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Environmental cleanup crews scoured the upper Rogue River Monday, mopping up any sign of oil washed downstream after a water line broke Sunday inside a hydroelectric power plant near Prospect. PacifiCorp spokesman Dave Kamme said Foss Environmental Services of Portland found one area about three miles downstream from the plant where some 10 to 25 gallons had accumulated at the side of the river. Special booms were placed around the oil to contain it before crews started cleanup work. While this was the only area where a significant amount of oil was found, Kamme said, "Nonetheless, we are still concerned about the situation." On Sunday, areas along the upper stretches of Lost Creek Lake had a noticeable sheen caused by the spill, investigators from Fire District 4 said. The oil, which is used to lubricate bearings in the two 1928 General Electric turbine generators at the plant on the north fork of the Rogue River, escaped from tanks after either a pipe or valve broke and allowed high-pressure water to flood the basement area. Kamme said not all the water had been pumped out of the powerhouse basement Monday, making it difficult for crews to determine the cause of the water leak. "It appears to be a freak kind of thing," he said. Water that did escape was contaminated with oil from the tanks, but Kamme said PacifiCorp probably won’t know how much leaked until the damage is fully assessed. PacifiCorp doesn’t have an estimate of the cost of the environmental cleanup or repairing the damaged turbine generators. The tanks, which can hold up to 300 gallons of turbine lubricant, are rarely at capacity, and Kamme said they likely contained about 200 gallons or more. In the basement, a layer of oil was visible on the water trapped inside. Garris Environmental Services of White City is pumping out the contaminated water and hauling it away. Mike Evenson, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, said there had been no reports of fish or wildlife injured by the spill. "That quantity of oil isn’t likely to cause any kind of fish kill," he said. The sheen on top of some areas of water is also not likely to cause any danger, he said. "It’s not much different than the sheen from an outboard motor," Evenson said. No restrictions have been placed on fishing on Lost Creek Lake or the Rogue River. However, officials at the Cole Rivers Hatchery near Lost Creek are keeping an eye out for any residue from the spill that might contaminate their fish, he said. Claudia Johansen, spill response coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said there is no danger to the public from the spill. "Fortunately, there was not a large volume released," she said. Much of the oil could have emulsified, said Johansen, and could leave a soapsuds-like residue on the riverbanks. While pockets of oil are recoverable, Johansen said, there is not much that can be done to mop up areas where there is a sheen because it is a minute quantity dispersed over a large area. One of two turbine generators at the powerhouse had been placed on-line Friday. Workers have replaced massive redwood pipes near Highway 62 with steel pipes that feed into the plant. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S