The Washington State Department of Ecology described an emergency response and continued cleanup tied to a Dec. 10, 2023 gasoline release from a connection on the Olympic Pipeline near Conway in Skagit County.

The release originated from a corroded 3/8‑inch stainless steel line that fed a pressure gauge on pipeline equipment housed in a concrete vault, Ecology’s statewide response section manager, David Byers, told the Skagit County Local Emergency Planning Committee. "There was a 3 eighths inch, stainless line coming off the pipe that led to a pressure gauge as part of their automatic telemetry system. And that that 3 eights inch line actually, the fitting connecting 2 2 pieces of that, corroded, apparently, and leaked," Byers said.

Ecology said the initial response included excavation, containment and removal of contaminated soil and vegetation; federal and state agencies supported the work. Byers said Ecology recorded about $700,000 in state spending for the incident that will be submitted for cost recovery to Olympic Pipeline Company (BP). "How much BP spent on that. As long as they're continuing to write checks and, they have financial assurance, which Ecology has a process for verifying," Byers said, adding that the total responsible‑party costs are not publicly disclosed by law.

Why it matters: the release flowed from the vault into adjacent farmland, into a channel called Hill Ditch and into Fisher Slough before a tide gate into the Skagit River system. Ecology reported that cleanup required removal of contaminated vegetation and that 289 trees were cut and removed because they were contaminated and sitting on polluted soils. Byers said that visual oil was not observed in the Skagit River and only very low concentrations of gasoline constituents such as benzene were detected in some samples.

Investigations and oversight: Byers said the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the primary investigator, supported by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission’s pipeline safety staff; PHMSA’s final investigation report was not yet released at the time of the presentation. "They are due to release their final investigation report," Byers said.

Community relations and tribal participation: Ecology described a multi‑agency unified command that included EPA, Skagit County (local lead), and tribal representatives from the Swinomish Tribe and the Lummi Nation. Byers said Ecology conducted door‑to‑door outreach, daily updates in the early response and multiple community meetings, but acknowledged some residents were unhappy with the timing and format of meetings. "We did a total of 5 community meetings throughout the event and still there was a couple of residents in particular that their idea was of a community meeting was different than ours," Byers said.

State policy response: The incident prompted legislative attention and helped spur substitute Senate Bill 6164, which requires county emergency management plans to include a quick notification system for hazmat incidents and directs Ecology to hold at least one meeting for type 1 or type 2 incidents with remote‑participation options. Byers said the statute also directs that the responsible party be included in the meeting, a requirement Ecology may find difficult to enforce if the responsible party does not participate voluntarily. Julie (meeting participant) added that advocates worked to narrow the bill’s language to focus on industry responsible parties rather than routine incident commands for small events. "We tried to give some education that we're really talking about industry responsible parties, not the public," Julie said.

Next steps: Byers said Ecology transitioned from emergency response to the agency’s toxics cleanup program to address lingering, low‑level contamination that could not be fully excavated during the emergency phase. He said continuing options include additional remediation or a monitoring approach if remaining concentrations decline naturally and no ongoing threat to human health or the environment is identified. The PHMSA final report and ongoing cost‑recovery and natural resource damage assessment processes will shape further work.

Community and tribal contacts and Ecology’s cost‑recovery and natural resource damage assessment authorities remain central to the follow‑up. Byers encouraged local officials to request periodic roll‑ups of incident data from Ecology and noted the agency’s verification process for financial assurance of major bulk oil handlers.