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Remedial/Injury Assessment
Case: Citgo Refinery, Calcasieu
River, LA
Source: CITGO Refinery.
Release: Approximately three million gallons of oil.
Primary Injury:
The Trustees, in cooperation with the responsible party and its
representatives, are assessing the nature and extent of potential
injuries to trust resources in the Calcasieu Estuary associated with the CITGO
discharge. Analyses of source oil samples, shoreline habitat, water samples,
bivalve and fiddler crab tissue samples, oiled wildlife, and sediment samples,
as well as field observations, will be used to assess the ecological impact
from the oil discharge. Injuries to fish and other organisms in the water
column are being assessed with a water quality model. Recreational losses
incurred by boaters, fishermen, and other recreational users of the Calcasieu
Estuary are being assessed with human use surveys and models specific to the
Calcasieu Estuary.
The Trustees have determined that the following resources may have been injured:
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Marshes and shorelines.
Over 170 miles of shoreline were assessed by airboat crews to document impacts
to marshes and other terrestrial habitats from the discharged oil.
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Benthos.
Intertidal and nearshore subtidal areas are home to many bottom-dwelling
organisms that are important to the food web in the Calcasieu Estuary,
including but not limited to, fish, mussels, oysters, and fiddler crabs.
Bivalve tissues, water samples, and sediment samples are being analyzed to
determine the potential injury to benthos in the intertidal and nearshore
subtidal portions of the Calcasieu Estuary.
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Biological resources in the water column.
Dead fish such as mullet, black drum, and sand seatrout were observed in oiled
surface waters. A water quality model is being developed to better understand
the potential impacts to water column organisms from the discharged oil.
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Wildlife.
The oiled area was surveyed by field crews following the discharge. Oiled brown
pelicans, cormorants, herons, and a variety of other birds were observed.
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Human Use. The discharge resulted in lost or affected
recreational trips in the Calcasieu Estuary.
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