ALEXANDER, N.D. - For the past few months, there has been a lot of talk about accidental oil and production-water spills in North Dakota. Much of the discussion is reasonable, but much of it also has been misconstrued by the media.
We should - and do - have an energy industry that is committed to reducing and mitigating accidents in the Bakken.
But just what is a spill? In North Dakota, almost any time oil hits the ground, a spill has legally occurred, and formal clean-up and reporting are required.
Unfortunately, because of this reporting of each and every spill, the statistics can sound scary. High counts of small reported spills often are highlighted in an effort to push agendas in the media.
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Fortunately, a much safer picture is painted by our own experience as a company hired for spill clean-up, along with data from the North Dakota Health Department.
Using data available online from the past twelve months, we are able to learn that most spills are limited and relatively minor:
- More than 75 perecent of all spills occur within containment areas. These areas include well pads, depot sites and other places that are ringed with earth or metal walls meant to limit a spill, no matter its size.
- The median oil spill is only one barrel - a size smaller than an everyday fish tank - while more than two-thirds of all spills contain less than 100 gallons of oil. More than 60 percent release no saltwater at all.
- Of the total reports, almost 6 percent of “spills” reported absolutely no fluid volume of any kind. Many more reported less than a gallon of oil.
In fact, one reported incident was simply a spill of fresh water, reported to the state purely as a precautionary measure.
Our company, Absorbent and Safety Solutions, cleans up small spills on a daily basis for our customers. We represent companies from every facet of oil field exploration and production.
Our customers’ dedication to the environment and the industry has molded how we approach spill clean-up in the Bakken. They want their accidental releases cleaned up quickly, professionally and legally. This is why we are available 24/7 and guarantee a four-hour response to all of our customers, no matter how big or small the release may be.
The clean-up of small spills is both important and routine work. Ninety-five percent of our work comes from small spills that require only a team of two to four individuals to respond, contain and remediate the area.
After containment is complete, we will remove the top 3 inches to 6 inches of gravel or soil, have it trucked to a special waste facility and replaced with clean material. The process takes only a few hours and costs relatively little as compared to the large numbers normally reported in the news.
Once or twice a month, we are called to clean up larger incidents. In these situations, the process of clean-up is more or less the same but on a larger scale.
Our work continues until any possible contamination has been removed, and the site is restored to its original condition, no matter the time or cost.
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Our goal and the goal of the energy producers we serve is to ensure the long-term safety and environmental health of North Dakota. Our first priority is to stop a spill from contaminating water supplies and wetlands. Second, we work to contain the spill from spreading any further.
Third, we work to restore the location in a timely manner.
Each reported incident is visited in person by North Dakota Health Department officials to make sure the work we do is thorough and completed up to the highest standards.
Far from being scary dots on a map, reported spills are most often minor in nature and little different than incidents that happen across any industry that produces or relies on chemicals.
This is an industry that actively and publicly reports its mishaps. Thus, do not judge the industry on its reports, but instead on its response. Recognize its commitment to responsibly and quickly acting to restore a location and maintain the long-term health of North Dakota’s lands.
Rodgers is vice president of Absorbent and Safety Solutions, an environmental services company that provides emergency spill response services in the Bakken.
