The diesel from the Jarvis Street Power Plant leaked into Sitka Sound through this storm water drain at Eagle Beach. (Rachel Waldholz, KCAW)
The Sitka Assembly on Tuesday (8-26-15) received an update on last week’s diesel spill at the city’s Jarvis Street Power Plant. Officials estimate that up to 2500 gallons of diesel were released into Sitka Sound when a fuel storage tank failed at the power station during the weekend of August 15 – 16.
City Administrator Mark Gorman introduced Sitka’s new Utility Director, Bryan Bertacchi — Bertacchi’s first day of work was the Sunday night of the spill.
And Bertacchi told the Assembly that investigators working for both the city and its insurer are still trying to figure out what caused it.
“The response is not yet deemed complete,” he said “We’re continuing the investigation, it’s ongoing into the root cause of what caused the spill, and further we’re really looking at what best practices can we put into place at the utility so we can avoid a reoccurrence of this problem in the future.”
Bertacchi said the incident command structure, which was set up to respond to the spill, was demobilized on August 21. But, he said, all of the agencies involved continue to monitor the situation, including the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Coast Guard and the National Park Service.
The city doesn’t know yet whether there will be any penalties or fines stemming from the spill. But Sitka will have to reimburse agencies like the Coast Guard for some of their costs. It’s not yet clear how much that will be.
Speaking with KCAW, Bertacchi said the tank that failed is one of two new tanks storing diesel at the Jarvis Street plant — but it’s part of a larger system of pipes and storage tanks that’s 35 years old.
Bertacchi said the Coast Guard now estimates that about 5,000 gallons of diesel could have evaporated during the two days that the fuel was essentially sitting in a giant pool under the sun — leaving up to 2500 gallons that likely leaked into the city storm drain system and eventually reached Sitka Sound.
The diesel recovered from the containment area has not yet been filtered and tested for use, but Bertacchi said the Jarvis Street plant will be able to generate power if needed — it’s Sitka’s backup power source, if transmission from the Blue Lake dam has to be interrupted. The city still has some diesel stored in a second tank, and has plans in place with local fuel suppliers in case of an emergency.
