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Tar Sands Strip Mining in Utah:
What’s at stake? What are the risks? What are the alternatives?

Public presentation by John Weisheit

Conservation Director of Living Rivers & the Colorado Riverkeeper

Saturday September 24th @ 2:00 PM
Salt Lake City Downtown Public Library
400 South 200 East
Basement conference rooms A and B

Tar Sands Presentation Information

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   for Info 801-699-1856
September 6, 2011

 Chevron Settlement Totally Unacceptable

Mayor and Governor Ignored Impacts to Community Health
in backroom deal with Chevron

A new announcement by Mayor Becker between Chevron, Salt Lake City and the State of Utah imposing nominal fines upon the multinational oil giant is being widely criticized by members of the medical community, volunteers from the City’s Oil Spill Working Group and other local residents.

It appears that no money has been allocated to address the long term health impacts to residents exposed to carcinogenic oil spill fumes, which is baffling given that two dozen doctors wrote both the Governor and the Mayor over 3 months ago specifically asking that a well-funded longitudinal health study be implemented and paid for by Chevron.

“This proposed settlement appears to ignore the health impacts to the community and is totally unacceptable” said Dr. Brian Moench, M.D., President of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “Right from the beginning of this spill, community health was inadequately assessed or protected.  The proposed settlement dismisses the possible long term medical consequences to the residents that have been exposed” said Dr. Moench.

“What about us citizens who’ve been impacted by these oil fumes and are still experiencing health impacts?  Don’t we matter to the Mayor and the Governor?” said Alyssa Kay, a mother of one of the children who experienced extreme stomach pains and numbness in limbs among other impacts.  Ms. Kay rushed her child to the Emergency Room from their house across the street from Liberty Park the morning of the first spill.

The spill was so new that hospital workers didn’t even know about it when Ms. Kay and her child arrived at the hospital.  Scores of other residents reported experiencing health impacts including vomiting, stomach aches, uncontrolled urination, feinting and other effects some of which have continued.

“This is simply an abdication of responsibility on the part of Chevron and our elected leaders whose most important obligation is to the health of people in the community” said Dr. Moench.

“Our elected officials have failed us by not creating a longitudinal health study funded by Chevron” said Zach Frankel, Executive Director of the Utah Rivers Council.  “Why didn’t they advocate for victims of the oil spill?  We’ve been talking about $15 million for an escrow fund and now they settle on a paltry $4.5 from one of the globe’s wealthiest corporations in a backroom deal?” asked Frankel.

“There is more than enough medical research to warn us that the Salt Lake residents exposed, especially children, could have long term health problems, including increased risks for cancer and many other diseases triggered by chromosomal damage.  There is evidence that residents and clean up workers exposed to last year’s Gulf oil spill are experiencing a wide range of symptoms and possible future diseases” said Dr. Moench.

Over 3 months ago, two dozen doctors wrote a letter to the Mayor and the Governor citing the need for a longitudinal health study that would last over the many years it may take for victims to experience long term health impacts.  They cited a study published last Fall, which found that fishermen exposed to oil fumes from the 2002 oil spill in Spain had “structural chromosomal abnormalities in circulating lymphocytes.”  The authors of that study wrote:  “Our findings indicate that exposure to oil sediments, even for short periods, may have detrimental health effects.”

The letter signed by 22 Utah doctors noted that “The type of chromosomal damage found in these workers is often used in environmental studies and is an early marker of genotoxicity that has been associated with an increased risk for cancer.”

 One of the letters’ authors, Dr. Cris Cowley, M.D., noted “This study indicates there is serious concern when humans are exposed to crude oil, even for a short time.  It is alarming that chromosomal abnormalities were found in abundance in the workers that were briefly exposed to crude oil.  These types of chromosomal changes have been associated with a higher incidence of cancer and chronic diseases many years after the toxic exposure” said Dr Cowley.

Because of these concerns, the doctors called for a long-term longitudinal health study of Salt Lake City residents exposed to the fumes from Chevron’s oil.  Since potential health impacts from exposure to these fumes may take years to observe, residents have effectively been burdened with tests costing thousands of dollars or more, over their lifetimes.

In the May letter, Dr Cowley noted: “Residents exposed to fumes from this crude oil may have suffered some chromosomal damage but we won’t know this unless they are tested.  That’s why we’ve asked the Governor to establish an escrow fund.  The residents exposed should be followed for possible effects on their health, and Chevron should fund this study.”

• To speak with Dr. Brian Moench, please call 801-243-9089 or 801-507-8209.
• To speak with Alyssa Kay, please call 801-414-8032.
• To speak with Zach Frankel, please call 801-699-1856.
• To speak with Peter Hayes, cofounder of the Citizens Response Committee to restore Red Butte Creek, please call 801-631-5405.

 1055 East 2100 South, Suite 204 S Salt Lake City, UT 84106 S 801-486-4776 S www.utahrivers.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2011

Chevron, Salt Lake City and State Announce Proposed Agreement to Settle Oil Spill Claims
Pipe Line Company agrees to $4.5 million payout

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City, the Utah Department of Environment Quality – Division of Water Quality and Chevron Pipe Line Company jointly announced today that an agreement has been proposed to settle claims resulting from the two crude oil spills which occurred in 2010.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chevron Pipe Line has agreed to the following payments:

• $1,000,000 to Salt Lake City to settle “lost use” claims, which include environmental and social impacts
• $500,000 to the State of Utah as a civil penalty arising from the two crude oil spills
• $3,000,000, in lieu of a civil penalty, for mitigation projects to restore and enhance affected waterways that may have been impacted by the two crude oil spills

A 30-day comment period will be provided for the public to submit written comments to the State on the proposed settlement agreement.

While major cleanup of the spills has been completed, Chevron, Salt Lake City, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department continue to assess the condition of the Red Butte Creek riparian corridor and the affected portion of the Jordan River corridor.

Water quality, creek sediment, creek bank soil and aquatic organisms will all continue to be monitored to determine if any other active measures need to be taken to complete the recovery and restoration process. Chevron will continue to bear responsibility to clean up oil hotspots if they become evident.

“After substantial negotiations between the three parties, we feel this is a fair and reasonable settlement and that the mitigation projects will preserve and protect Utah’s waterways,” said Utah Division of Water Quality Director Walt Baker.

“Salt Lake City’s position has remained constant since the date of the first spill: to hold Chevron accountable for damage to the health of our City’s residents and natural environment,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. “I am hopeful that as the requirements of the settlement and agencies are met and the assessment of the affected areas is complete, the concerns of our residents will be satisfied and the repair and restoration of the damaged riparian corridors will be accomplished.”

Chevron Pipe Line Company President Randy Curry stated, “Chevron’s main focus during both these unfortunate incidents has been the safety of our community and response personnel. We have accepted responsibility for the cleanup and restoration activities associated with both events and are working with the State and City on those efforts. This agreement further demonstrates our commitment to the Salt Lake community to complete restoration activities and comply with all applicable regulatory requirements.”

Contacts:

Salt Lake City                                      Art Raymond     801-547-2659

Utah Division of Water Quality        Walt Baker          801-536-4310

Chevron Pipe Line Company            Greg Hardy         801-539-7337

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Utah’s urban water use is consistently the highest or second highest in the country. Utah’s per capita water use is more than twice the national average and water use in the Salt Lake

keeping the sidewalk well watered

Valley is higher than virtually all major Western cities, including Las Vegas (Gasp!)

Somewhere between 65-70% of water use in our cities happens outside the home and for lawns and gardens. It is widely estimated we could reduce 25% of our use without removing a single blade of grass.

One of the consequences of this waste is that water suppliers urge State legislators to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in new, yet completely unnecessary water projects we don’t need. No amount of data, information, or reduction in water use appears to change their minds.  They argue we are “running out of water” and scare us into paying for water projects we don’t need.

So why do we waste so much water?

In the coming weeks we will be answering this question in more detail on these pages. Check back for our new campaigns to see some detailed answers and lots of compelling opportunities to make a difference for Utah’s rivers.