Sunoco Pipeline Oil Spill

State TrusteeState of Ohio
AO Bureau

Also Known As

Sunoco/Oak Glen Nature Preserve

Incident Type

Oil

State

Ohio

Case Status

Restoration

Location

Oak Glen Nature Preserve, Great Miami River, Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifier

Authority

OPA, CWA

Contaminants of Concern Include

Oil

Affected DOI Resources Include

Migratory Birds, Threatened and Endangered Species

Case Description

The Trustees conducted a natural resource damage assessment to restore injured natural resources and the services they provide resulting from the release of approximately 21,000 gallons of light crude oil from a pipeline owned by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)/Sunoco into an unnamed tributary leading to a forested wetland within the Oak Glen Nature Preserve in Colerain Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. The nature preserve is managed by Great Parks of Hamilton County, and the forested wetland is hydraulically connected to the Great Miami River and the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer. The spill and subsequent clean-up operations impacted the stream, vernal pool, forested wetland, riparian and adjacent areas within the Nature Preserve and adjacent residential properties. The Trustees for this site are the U.S. Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Ohio, acting through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Under OPA, 33 U.S.C. §2701(20), natural resources were injured, destroyed or lost. Categories of impacted and potentially impacted resources, include the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), the threatened northern-long eared bat Myotis septentrionalis), migratory birds, and their supporting ecosystems, the state endangered cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga), the state listed lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus), ambystomid salamanders, and other amphibians and reptiles. On November 13, 2015, the Trustees released a Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning pursuant to 15 C.F.R. § 990.14(c). The Trustees coordinated with ETP representatives on assessment and restoration planning. The Trustees determined injury and calculated damages using a HEA analysis model. Settlement negotiations began in 2021 and an agreement for a cash out settlement for $1.25 million for restoration, in addition to past assessment costs, was reached in early 2024. The Consent Decree finalizing the settlement between the Trustees and ETP was entered by the court in September 2024. Trustees are in the process of identifying viable restoration projects and drafting the Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment.

Oil seep in stream downstream of spill, Oak Glen Nature Preserve, Hamilton County, Ohio (Feb. 2, 2015), Credit: USFWS Deborah Millsap

Forested wetland/pool impacted by oil spill, Oak Glen Nature Preserve (Feb. 4, 2015), Credit: USFWS Deborah Millsap


Page 1 of 2
 Document TypeDocument NameDocument Date

Agreement

 MOA/MOU Memorandum of Understanding Between the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of the Interior 03/02/2015

Restoration

 NOI NOI for Restoration Planning 12/10/2015
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix A 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix C 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix D 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix E 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix F 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix G 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix H 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix I 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix J 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix K 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix L 08/12/2019
 Restoration Completion Report Sunoco Oak Glen Final Primary Restoration Completion and Monitoring Report - Appendix M 08/12/2019

Study

 Study Report Sunoco Final Report: Amphibian Survey at Oak Glen Nature Preserve 2015 07/07/2015
 

No publications have been entered for this case.

Map View

Case Contact

Columbus Ohio Field Office

Columbus, OH | (614) 416-8993 | http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ohio/

Case Trustees

AO Bureau
State TrusteeState of Ohio

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