Chevron pipeline to reopen; officials continue oil cleanup

SALT LAKE CITY — Crews are continuing to clean residue oil out of the Red Butte Canyon spill, even as officials say they will reopen the pipeline Monday.

Chevron tested a nearly 14-mile section of pipeline on Sunday with five times the amount of pressurized water and there was no leak, according to a press release. Officials used a green dye in the water, which was pressurized to 300 psi, for about four hours and reported the pipeline is ready to start up again Monday.

Crews continuing the cleanup have recovered about 600 of the 800 barrels of oil that spilled into Red Butte Creek on June 12. That oil traveled down the creek and collected in Liberty Park Pond, with some sheen escaping into the Jordan River. Chevron shut off the pipeline at the time and crews began cleaning up the oil spill.

Chevron officials believe 100 barrels of the oil have evaporated.

On Saturday, Chevron crews flushed reservoir water into the creek to catch any remaining oil residue into absorbent booms, which were then picked up by vacuum trucks, the press release said.

Water was released from Red Butte Reservoir that same day to increase the creek's flow rate and water level. Officials said it assisted in mobilizing residue oil on the banks of the creek and in the culverts downstream.

For more information about the spill, visit www.redbuttecanyonspill.com.

— Lana Groves