Oil Spill Near Fairview

Oil and water don't mix. The full extent of the March 11 oil spill at Private Frazier Well site north of Fairview remains to be seen. The Zavanna LLC well site is on land owned by Cayko Farms. Although the North Dakota Oil and Gas Commission says they sent out warnings of ice jams and potential flooding four days in advance, David Hodges, senior vice president of operations for Zavanna says the company received notification by voice mail at approximately 8 a.m. on March 11. Workers were in the area, monitoring conditions until 5 p.m. when everything appeared normal. At 11 p.m. that evening a truck driver notified Zavanna of flooding near the location. Zavanna personnel, including the production superintendent, pumpers and field personnel began shutting in the well but flood waters breached the 12' dike area. One tipped tank leaked approximately 33 barrels of oil. Another tank, or tanks, may be compromised.

Further containment efforts began the afternoon of March 13 after notification from the NDIC that an aerial photograph showed a release on the Private Frazier. A containment boom was placed around the tank that was tipped over. Hodges said that sometime between the morning and afternoon of the 13th is when the release occurred, providing further reasoning that it was the middle tank that leaked and not the outside one which had tipped over. With 15 wells in the Lewis and Clark field, Zavanna focused on securing all their wells on both the east and west sides of the river.

Hodges said that Zavanna knows exactly how much oil was on the site, but he could not speculate on how much oil leaked. The company is in the process of pumping approximately 85,000 barrels of contaminated water from the site and hauling it to an approved disposal site. Once that water is removed, Zavanna will be able to determine the full extent of the damage.

Adjacent land owners Paul and Joan Eldridge didn't discover the spill until March 26, almost two weeks after the flood. Paul noticed some oil on ice chunks piled against his fence. Further investigation revealed a stripe of oil a few inches wide and approximately 6' up on the trees in their pasture, plus globs of oil scattered on the ground. They had not been notified of the spill. Initial conversations with Zavanna representatives did not go well. Angry and frustrated, Paul called the National Oil Spill Hotline which is connected with the North Dakota Oil and Gas commission, the EPA, ND Game & Fish, the Health department and several other entities. By the end of the day, Eldridges had received calls from all those entities and had an appointment with Game & Fish for the next morning.

Hodges explained the non-notification by stating that their concern, first and foremost, was containment and cleanup. With data coming in that was not necessarily accurate, Zavanna didn't understand where the oil had gone at first. They had notified Terry and Vickie Cayko of the spill, unaware that Eldridges owned the property just 550' away.

"I hate to say it, but we were focused on the waterways. After Paul called, we realized we hadn't contacted all the right people," Hodges said.

Kent Luttschwager, wildlife resource supervisor, ND Game & Fish Department, surveyed the damages Thursday morning with Paul. They met up with Zavanna personnel at the well site and gave them a tour as well.

Luttschwager said the oil spill involved a rupture or tipped tank on private property. The question is where the plume went. Aerial photos initially showed it headed west, then northwest. Impacts occurred mostly on Game & Fish land, plus a bit of BLM land on Big Oxbow Island, plus adjacent private property. Until the phone call, Game & Fish was unaware of damage to the Eldridge property. Now, they are looking at a possible northeast direction for the plume and checking the Ochs Point Wildlife Management Area as well since that joins the Eldridge land. "With flood conditions, it's difficult to get around. We'll continue to survey the area," Luttschwager said. "Our concern now is where it (the plume) went. Especially with ice jams and flooding, it's not predictable."

Game & Fish is not against development and extracting of minerals according to Luttschwager. Their concern is that there has to be vision and planning in place that allows the extraction of resources in a safe and prudent manner. "There are real concerns about lasting damage and the long term affect on sensitive species such as the pallid sturgeon," he said. "The downstream intakes, whether residential, agricultural or commercial may be affected. It may not be a big concern if the spill is small, but if it continues to happen, everyone downstream has to be concerned."

Game & Fish concerns with the spill are first, the cleanup of private and public property. Second, the river bottom of the Yellowstone River, the last unregulated great river in the U.S. Luttschwager said he hopes the spill will launch a discussion of future techniques and protection measures by all involved to prevent another spill. Short term planning involves the traditional June rise which has the potential for more flooding. Long term plans need to be developed for the life of the oil wells.

Garner Environmental from Texas has been hired by Zavanna to do the cleanup. Forty-five people have been working, with another 20 added last Saturday. The crew uses boats to reach the Big Oxbow Wildlife Management site. Shovels and pitchforks are used to remove oil soaked debris, which is then placed in heavy duty garbage bags and shipped back to the Confluence for disposal at an approved site. Hodges estimates that the Game & Fish and BLM land will be cleaned within the next few days, with the Eldridge property taking approximately 7 more days.

Hodges said Zavanna will work with all the different agencies to make sure the right things are done with the cleanup. "We fully support the interagency comprehensive approach," Hodges said. "We want to get this done as quickly and thoroughly as possible. We are committed to cleaning this up."

Hodges added that Zavanna is always working to avoid environmental impacts from their operations. On this site, he says they are not going to cut corners. "If we caused it, we will take care of it."

In an unusual move, representatives from Zavanna, Game & Fish, ND Oil and Gas commission and others are scheduled to meet with Eldridges to discuss the impacts of the oil spill and the best solutions to the problem.

When all is said and done, they all want the same thing. Eldridges want satisfaction for the spill, Zavanna wants to get it cleaned up and get back to work producing oil, and the Game & Fish wants oil development done responsibly.