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1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />On Sunday, February 23, 1986, Southern Pacific Pipe Line, Inc. (SPPL) <br />was informed of a suspected leak in the fuel pipeline connecting Stockton <br />to the Bay Area. A section of the underground pipeline passing beneath the <br />Arcady disposal site at the town of Holt (located about 70 miles east of <br />San Francisco and six miles west of Stockton) was apparently leaking. <br />Floodwaters had breached the levees surrounding the site and, together <br />with rising groundwaters, had liberated and dispersed petroleum fuels in <br />the surrounding waters. <br />Following this event the Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered <br />an immediate investigation and cleanup of the affected area. Southern <br />Pacific and Arcady Oil Co. responded to the spill by immediately (afternoon <br />of February 23) commencing a cleanup of nearby surface waters and <br />construction of a bypass pipe system. IT Corporation were contracted to <br />perform emergency cleanup operations and The MARK Group was called in to <br />provide engineering and technical services for long—term cleanup and <br />remediation. <br />On February 28, SPPL and Arcady Oil met with representatives of <br />various regulatory agencies to discuss the status of the investigations and <br />cleanup and to develop a plan of action for appropriate containment until <br />long—term remedial actions could be implemented. Information disclosed at <br />the meeting suggested that the leak may have started as a small and <br />unnoticeable leak since January 9, 1986, if not earlier. It was stated by <br />Arcady Oil that petroleum products had been detected in at least one and <br />perhaps three wells several weeks prior to the spill. It was noted that <br />since metering of the pipeline was accurate to 5 barrels in 10,000 any <br />leakage less than this would not be detected by pipeline operators. <br />-1- <br />inn