Buckeye Pipeline 2; New Haven Harbor, Connecticut

New Haven Harbor, Connecticut | 1994-Oct-15

Initial Notification: At approximately 1600 on October 15, 1994, the USCG Captain of the Port (COTP) Long Island Sound was notified by the Connecticut (CT) DEP of a fuel leak causing sheening in the Little River, a small tributary feeding into the Quinnipiac River in New Haven Harbor. Immediately suspect was a 12-inch diameter pipeline (constructed in 1961) owned by Buckeye Corporation extending from New Haven, Connecticut to Westover Air Force Base carrying a number of petroleum products ranging from gasoline to #2 fuel oil. The pipeline runs along the base of the Conrail train bed (north side) in the area of the Little River; the leak appeared to have originated on the east side of the river. Buckeye assumed responsibility for the spill. While a pipeline failure of some kind was suspected, extensive excavation did not uncover the exact location and 1,800 feet of pipeline were abandoned in place to be filled with concrete in summer 1995. After extensive pressure-testing of the replaced section, the pipeline was reactivated on October 31, 1994. USCG district 1. Keyword: sorbent boom, containment boom, evaporation, vacuum trucks.