Pipeline rupture spills 59,000 gallons of crude oil

VERNAL — A pipeline has ruptured, spilling an estimated 59,000 gallons of crude oil on Bureau of Land Management land 33 miles south of here.

Darrin Brown, director of environmental health for the TriCounty Health Department, said the pipeline ruptured Wednesday at about 11 p.m. The line is operated by Chevron Pipeline Co., Brown said. The break occurred about one mile west of Deseret Power's Bonanza Power Plant.

Frigid temperatures in the Uinta Basin kept the spill from spreading too far.

"(The oil) is in some washes where there's some snow, and if the snow melts, of course it'll run," Brown said Thursday. "But they should be able to get it all cleaned up before it runs anywhere."

Crews with specialized trucks have worked since the spill to vacuum up "puddles" of oil, Brown said.

"It's run under the snow, so it's hard to tell where it's gone," he said. "It's going to take a lot of excavation to clean this up."

Brown has contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which may send someone to the spill site Friday.

Officials with Chevron Pipeline could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

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E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com