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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:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Human Use. The discharge resulted in lost or affected recreational trips in the Calcasieu Estuary.

 


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