Cleanup crews plan 24-hour Pioneer Day presence at Liberty Park

SALT LAKE CITY — As Chevron heads into its sixth week of cleanup following an oil spill of 33,000 gallons, crews will continue to maintain a 24-hour presence at the Liberty Park pond amid Pioneer Day revelers.

Chevron spokesman Mickey Driver said the pond remains completely fenced off and will be off-limits to park visitors, but no threats exist — either from air pollutants or stray fireworks that may land in the water.

"It's not the kind of oil that would burn," Driver said. "It's not volatile."

Very little, if any, oil remains in the pond, he said, and absorbent booms are in place to catch any residue that may be washed down by Red Butte Creek as remediation efforts continue.

A vacuum truck nearby also can be utilized to catch any of the sheen that may make its way to the pond.

Crews are in Red Butte Creek, overturning rocks and tackling tree root systems to wipe away any of the oil that may remain in the aftermath of the spill, first detected June 12 near Red Butte Gardens.

"They are using absorbent pads that are kind of like a big diaper to cleanup any oil we find," Driver said.

The creek flow has been diminished to facilitate the cleanup, and absorbent booms will remain at the pond and at Jordan River to catch any oil that may be dislodged.

"We don't want to be doing any remediation work and have that get oil into the creek," Driver said.

Investigators believe a June 11 windstorm knocked a tree into a power line, sending an electrical arc down a chain-link fence post into the ground and into the Chevron pipeline, blowing a hole in it the size of a quarter.

The oil seeped into the creek and was conveyed to the pond at Liberty Park. Some of it made its way to the Jordan River, which remains closed to public access from 1300 South to 500 North because of the presence of booms. The Bonneville Shoreline Trail between the University of Utah Williams building north to the Red Butte Garden Amphitheater also remains closed.

Driver said remediation began this week at the actual spill site, with crews using backhoes and other heavy equipment to remove the oil-contaminated soil. It will be replaced with new mounds of dirt that will then be graded to return it to its pre-spill state.

"The purpose is to get the dirt out of there and remove any of the contamination," he said.