American President Lines Ltd Yard Diesel Spill

AO Bureau

Also Known As

Incident Type

Oil

State

Alaska

Case Status

Restoration

Location

Storage yard for trucking company, with surface water runoff into Buskin River watershed.

Authority

OPA

Contaminants of Concern Include

Oil

Affected DOI Resources Include

Anadromous Fish, Marine Mammals, Migratory Birds, Recreational Use Loss, Other

Case Description

On March 16, 2019, a diesel fuel supply line was discovered to have leaked approximately 1,400 gallons of diesel onto the ground, which migrated into a drainage ditch, through a culvert, and into the Buskin River, Kodiak Island, Alaska. The Buskin River is highly valued as a significant salmon production stream (coho, chinook, pink, and sockeye). The river is an important recreational and subsistence use area for the local communities. The affected estuary and adjacent bay is home to overwintering waterfowl and various species of other birds, including species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. Within the oil-impacted area, the land east of and along the Buskin River is the Buskin River Recreational Site, managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is acting as the Federal Lead Administrative Trustee, on behalf of all Trustee agencies involved, for purposes of Initiate Funding from the National Pollution Funds Center. On August 22, 2023, the Trustees and Responsible Party finalized a settlement for $169,785.02 in natural resource damages (past assessment costs paid separately). The Trustees are developing a Restoration Plan that will use the settlement funds for environmental restoration to offset the harm done by the spill.

Boom deployment and oil sheen at the mouth of the Buskin River, Kodiak, AK., Credit: Alaska Department of Transportation


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Map View

Case Contact

Alaska FWS Regional Office

1011 East Tudor Road, MS 361, Anchorage, AK, 99503 | (907) 786-3866 | https://www.fws.gov/alaska/

Case Trustees

AO Bureau

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