CITGO Oil Spill – June 19, 2006

A heavy rain event in mid June sparked this HAZMAT oil spill. Nearly 3 million gallons of waste oil (about 71 thousand barrels) were released into the Calcasieu River from the CITGO refinery near Sulphur, LA.  This oil spill occurred in part due to heavy rains overwhelming storage tanks at the refinery.  National Weather Service radars at Lake Charles and Fort Polk estimated approximately 12 inches of rain fell during the 24-hour period between June 18^th and June 19^th.  HAZMAT team responders estimate that 1 million gallons of oil were contained on land, with 1.25 million gallons spilling into an adjacent bayou, and 730 thousand gallons spilling into the Calcasieu River.  

On June 19, 2006, the office staff began providing forecasts twice daily, along with phone calls providing advance notice of any thunderstorms that would affect the containment and clean up operation. 

Service Hydrologist Montra Lockwood and Lead Forecaster Kent Kuyper also provided on-site support to the responders, providing them with information from local river and tide gages, and sharing our hydrology and meteorology expertise of the local area. The HAZMAT team leader was so pleased with the support, that he extended an offer to pay for any overtime incurred by WFO Lake Charles in support of this event.

The office continued to support the HAZMAT team until July 11, 2006. A total of 44 HAZMAT Spot forecasts were issued. The NOAA HAZMAT team also requested a detailed report on the weather events for June 18^th and 19^th.