Montebello Hills Task Force Exposes Pattern Of Oil Spills

An oil spilt that contaminated a storm drain pool and the Rio Hondo River in Southern California is under investigation by California Fish and Wildlife detetmine if the oil field operator violated water pollution laws. The investigation was triggered after members of the Sierra Club's Save the Montebello Hills Task Force. provided evidence to the media that this was not the first spill in the same location.

The April 19th spill was traced back to a 'broken pipe' in the Montebello hills oil field operated by Plains Exploration & Production (PXP). According to a Hazardous Material Spill Report filed with the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), 'ten barrels of produced water and 40 gallons of crude oil' were released when 'a gasket failed on a flange on a flow line.'

Nearby residents had not been officially notified of the spill.

The media was alerted on Friday night, April 22nd when a task force member noticed a strong odor of crude oil and a row of environmental clean-up trucks parked near the Rio Hondo River. The first news story about the spill, 'Montebello Oil Spill Clean Up In Progress,' by Elizabeth Hsing-Huel Chou, EGP Staff Writer, was posted Saturday morning by EGP News.

When contamination remained after the scene was declared 'clean' by officials on Saturday, April 23rd, another task force member contacted the Los Angeles Times. See. 'Remnents of oil spill linger in Móntebetlo trlbutary,' by Louis Sahagun, AprIl 27th.

On April 30th, the site was visited by members of the task force and two Montebello City Council members. Small pockets of oily residue were still visible.

The task force notified EGP News of documents regarding another oil spill in the same storm drain which occurred less than a year ago In September 2010. ThIs spill was reported to authorities three weeks late after oil was discovered in the same gravel pool of the Rio Hondo River by a vector control officer looking fOr mosquitoes. In this instance, two to three barrels of oil were spilled. This previous spill is being re-examined by authorities, 'Past PXP Spill Went Unreported. For Weeks, Also Being lnvestigated', by Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou, EGP staff Writer.

Both spills threatened a popular beach along the Rio Hondo River in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.

The Rio Hondo River flows Into two separate groundwater recharging structures, the conservation pool behind the Whittier Narrows Dam and the Pico Rivera Spreading Grounds below the dam.

The Save the Montebello Hills Task Force, Sierra Club/Angeles Chapter is committed ta preserving the last remaining open space in the city of Montebello, the Montebello hills. The hills are currently threatened by a proposed 1,200 unit housing development put forth by Cook Hill Propertlies LLC, a subsidiary of PXP. The hills are home to a population of federally threatened California gnatcatchers.

Task force members will continue to monitor this situation.