A 42,000-gallon jet fuel spill reported Jan. 21 is likely due to a weld failure on the bottom of an above-ground storage tank at a Sand Island tank farm, which supplies fuel to Honolulu Airport, the tank operating company said.
Although the spill remains under investigation, Aircraft Service International Group reported the weld failed when the company performed a vacuum test, but no hole is evident, said Terry Corpus, state on-site coordinator with the Department of Health’s Hazardous Evaluation and Emergency Response Branch.
The leading edge of the plume of fuel, which has seeped underground, is 150 feet from the water’s edge at Keehi Lagoon, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release Monday.
The state and the EPA have recovered more than 19,800 gallons of spilled jet fuel from two fuel extraction trenches excavated inside the tank farm. That’s up from the 16,000 gallons recovered as of Wednesday.
On Friday the EPA issued a Clean Water Act compliance order requiring tank farm operator ASIG and facility owner Hawaii Fueling Corp. to submit a work plan by Thursday for daily response activities and cleanup of all petroleum or contaminated materials released into the environment as a result of the spill.
The plan should also include how the companies intend to prevent further releases and harm to the environment, the EPA said. By March 2 a plan for sampling to ensure the cleanup activities are complete is due.
The Health Department reports the spill has not affected harbor activities and that there are no closures.
The EPA said, "There are no drinking water wells in the area."
Corpus said the area contains brackish water or seawater, and there are no freshwater sources anywhere.
Spill containment booms, placed at Keehi Lagoon as a precaution, are monitored daily, the EPA said.
The tank itself is roughly 200 to 250 feet from the water. A concrete wall, which goes below the groundwater table, is on the perimeter of the facility.
The EPA sent two on-site coordinators to assist in the response and recovery activities.
In the past week crews have dug 15 exploratory trenches and five monitoring bore holes inside the tank farm. A total of 42 exploratory bore holes have been dug outside the facility.
The facility has 16 tanks, each with a capacity of 2.8 million gallons for a total facility capacity of 44.8 million gallons of fuel.
A 2009 fuel spill also involved the current leaking tank, Tank No. 2, at the same facility.
Corpus said ASIG told the state that the 2009 spill involved wastewater processing.
He said water from condensation collects at the bottom of the fuel tanks, and the company must drain that water.
ASIG could not be reached for comment.
Dean Higuchi, EPA spokesman, would not speculate on how much the companies could potentially face in fines.
"We’re still in response mode and trying to contain and make sure it’s cleaned up," he said. "All facilities need to ensure they have proper containment and proper tank monitoring."
