La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

CONWAY — Crews cleaning up the Olympic Pipeline gas leak southwest of SR 534 in Conway cut down 289 trees Dec. 27-28 in order to remove underlying contaminated soil, the cleanup project’s unified command reported in a Dec.29 update. The area borders the west edge of a farm field and east shoreline of Hill Ditch.

The trees were to be handled by a materials recycler BP spokesperson Pam Brady told the press last week.

Approximately 8,324 gallons of gasoline have been recovered through the 29th. Approximately 25,326 gallons were discharged from a vault on Dec. 10 when a three-eighths inch diameter tube leading from the main pipeline to a pressure-check valve failed.

Spill response teams continue to locate and remove pockets of gasoline along the shoreline released over time as weather conditions change.

Air monitoring conducted at the direction of unified command continues to indicate no public health risk from gasoline fumes.

Members of the public are asked not to touch or relocate affected wildlife and to call the wildlife hotline (1-800-22BIRDS).

One lane of SR 534 remains open with traffic flaggers assisting motorists through the area as cleanup work proceeds..

The unified command consists of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Department of Ecology, Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, bp, Lummi Nation, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Status updates will be posted on Ecology’s incident webpage at http://tinyurl.com/svvp2p4s.