EVERETT — BP’s Olympic Pipeline returned to full service on Saturday after a leak east of Everett was found on Nov. 11, triggering a two-week shutdown and leading Washington and Oregon’s governors to issue emergencies over the disruption of fuel.
The company has recovered almost 2,300 gallons of oil and is continuing cleanup efforts, a statement said on Monday. As of Monday, no product has been observed outside of the response area.
After a sheen was found in an agricultural ditch near Lowell-Snohomish River Road, the oil giant shut down the two pipes at the site, which are a part of the 400-mile Olympic Pipeline system that transports jet fuel, diesel and gasoline from four refineries along Puget Sound to the Seattle area, Sea-Tac and further south to Vancouver and Portland.
The shutdown caused delays in air travel, with Alaska and Delta airlines having to make fuel stops during flights or delaying flights while waiting for fuel. The airlines returned to normal operations last Tuesday, according to spokespeople for the companies.
The Washington Department of Ecology fined BP $3.8 million on Tuesday for a 2023 spill near Conway, where a corroded nut on the Olympic Pipeline caused 21,000 gallons of gasoline to be released, 4,000 of which ran into a nearby fish-bearing stream.
Response crews from the state agency worked for three months to remove 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and 330,000 gallons of oily water from the site, according to an agency press release.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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