The Utah Division of Water Quality is asking Chevron to
provide a report on cleanup operations and a response plan for the pipeline
rupture that leaked about 21,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
The split in the pipeline running between Salt Lake City
and Spokane, Wash., spilled diesel at Willard Bay State Park and near the Bear
River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Division Director Walt Baker said his agency is working
with the Attorney General’s Office to ensure Chevron is held accountable for
the spill and its impacts.
“This release has had a significant effect on a fragile
ecosystem,” he said. “The popular bird-watching and recreational area has been
closed because of this spill.”
State law gives the company 30 days to respond to the
violation notice and 60 days to address the compliance requirements. Water
quality officials then would determine any state fines.
“We are committed to cooperating with the Utah Division of
Water Quality and responding to the notice in the required time frame,” Chevron
spokesman Gareth Johnstone said in an email.
Federal regulators, who fined Chevron nearly $500,000 for
two Utah
The 8-inch-diameter pipeline failed March 18, spilling
fuel in the marshes. State officials credit a beaver dam for holding back much
of the fuel, although it left a family of beavers with petroleum burns. The
beavers are being nursed back to health at a wildlife rehabilitation center.
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