Mistryski Power Plant; Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan | 1994-Feb-09

Initial Notification: On February 9, 1994, there was a pipeline leak at the Mistryski Power Plant along the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan. The power plant is approximately two miles downriver of the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. The leak was continuous and occurred from approximately 2230 on February 9 to 0330 on February 10 and was described as flowing at the rate of a fire-hose discharge. Oil had broken through a corroded portion of a 10-inch supply line, ran into a storm sewer, and then traveled about 100 feet to enter the river. When the incident occurred, the Detroit River was 95 percent ice-covered. Originally the released product was thought to be a #6 oil, but laboratory analysis proved it was a #4 fuel with density of 0.93. The original estimate of 10,000 to 30,000 gallons proved a conundrum as only about 300 gallons was observed in the river. Later volume refinements had the number at officially less than 900 gallons and most likely around 300 gallons. The City of Detroit assumed responsibility for the spill and immediately hired Marine Pollution Control. Only a limited response was possible due to the ice. A portion of the spilled oiled was recovered by removing the oil-stained ice accessible from the shorelines. The Detroit City Laboratory performed the first analysis on the oil, determining that it was a #4 rather than a #6, and that it was a "floater". The City immediately hired Tri-State Bird Rescue to assess the threat to nearly 5000 birds in the oiled area and to establish a rehabilitation center, if necessary. The Joint U.S./Canada contingency plan was invoked and a unified command was formed among the USCG, the City of Detroit, the State of Michigan, and the Canadian Coast Guard. All activities took place at the MSO Detroit office. The active response lasted for only four days. On the fifth and sixth days, the temperature rose into the 40s and the wind shifted to from the east allowing more of the oil-stained ice to migrate to the shoreline where it could be removed. The increased temperatures caused an ice jam that flushed all the remaining oiled ice down the Trenton Channel into still frozen Lake Erie. Only two oiled birds died as a result of the spill. USCG district 9. Keyword: none.