13,500 gallons of oil spill along Colorado's flooded St. Vrain River

9/19/2013

DENVER — Federal regulators are responding to a second significant spill from a Colorado oil field that’s been inundated by flooding.

Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Matthew Allen said today that Anadarko Petroleum reported the release of 323 barrels from an oil and gas tank farm along the St. Vrain River near Platteville. That’s about 13,500 gallons.

It wasn’t immediately known if any efforts were being made to capture the released fuel. Allen says fast-moving floodwaters could make that task difficult.

Anadarko on Wednesday reported a 125 barrel release from an oil tank south of Milliken. Both releases involve condensate, a mixture of oil and water.

Allen says more reports of problems in Colorado’s booming Wattenberg oil field are expected once flood waters recede and inspectors can access more sites.