Trees and contaminated soil are removed following gas pipeline spill in Skagit County

Crews have begun removing trees and contaminated soil in Skagit County, following a gasoline line spill in Conway earlier this month.

Approximately 25,000 gallons were released from a BP-owned pipeline on Dec. 10 after a pressure check valve failed. The pollution flowed into an irrigation canal called Hill Ditch. That ditch feeds into Bulson Creek, and that water eventually flows into the Skagit River delta. Response crews deployed 1,600 feet of absorbent boom to catch any spilled gas as far as 2.5 miles downstream.

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Washington's Department of Ecology ran tests and concluded that none of the spill reached local water wells in the area surrounding Hill Ditch. Surface water tests are still underway at 16 sites. Contaminants from the spill were identified along at least one-third of a mile of shoreline.

While local wells appear to be unaffected, so far, damage to the soil and trees along Hill Ditch are another matter. The trees are being removed along the edge of the canal and neighboring farmland. The the soil will then be trucked away. That work is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.

Contaminated soil is being loaded onto trucks and transported to a hazardous waste facility in Arlington, Oregon.

In the wake of the spill, Ecology has found a handful of dead animals — one beaver, a pine siskin bird, a mallard duck, and an American widgeon duck.