Ecology details cleanup, community strain after Olympic Pipeline gasoline release near Conway

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…