Tar Sands Crude Spills Into Denver's Water Supply

[ensho]

http://www.treehugger.com/energy-disasters/colorado-refinery-spill-was-tar-sands-crude.html


News broke yesterday that "toxic oily muck" was spilling from a refinery into a creek in Commerce City, outside Denver.

Suncor Energy, the company that owns the petroleum refinery (the only one in the state, though you can't miss seeing or smelling it if you drive past), has said the spill is contained and that the cause is under investigation.

Reuters reports: "The Canadian energy firm said it had not yet identified the source of the leak, but acknowledged it was likely coming from its 93,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in the area. It said plant operations were unaffected."

Different story for the water, however—a creek that runs into a river that is a major source of drinking water for nearby Denver has definitely been affected. According to Environment News Service, the spill was discovered on Sunday "by local fisherman Trevor Tanner, an aerospace engineer and South Platte conservation advocate, who saw oil on the water and said the area smelled like a gas station."
-snip-
-------------------

so glad "plant operations were unaffected"

now as to those water drinkers that are/will be affected....

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. Commerce City is surrounded by Rock Mountain Flats

A EPA Super site.

Colorado has shale and tar sands too. I wonder if this came from the western slope.