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Kinder Morgan Facility News

11 May 2005

Barge in James River Refloated

The tank barge VB 53, which grounded in the upper James River on Sunday, May 8, 2005, was successfully refloated. Divers have determined that there are cracks in the bottom of the barge caused by the grounding. The barge is not leaking at this time. The barge is presently being moved north to the Kinder Morgan facility to be offloaded. The Coast Guard has required the responsible party to provide escort vessels equipped with containment boom and cleanup materials for the transit and transfer. Sensitive areas along the route have been protectively boomed off. Cleanup efforts are continuing, aided by favorable weather conditions. Two vacuum trucks are removing oil from concentrated areas. There are a total of 57 contract personnel engaged in the cleanup.

15 Jan 2003

Traffic Restricted on HSC Due to Oil Spill

Vessel traffic on the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) remains limited while commercial contractors cleanup approximately 2,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled Sunday. Today the Coast Guard has only allowed certain kinds of vessels to pass through the area, such as small tugs and barges. Larger deep-draft vessels will be allowed to pass once the Coast Guard has concluded that the cleanup operations are not impacted by passing vessels. U.S. Coast Guard investigators are also continuing to monitor the cleanup and are investigating the cause of the accident. The ship channel was initially closed after the Coast Guard received a report that fuel oil had spilled from a barge about 4 a.m. Sunday during bunkering operations near the Kinder Morgan facility in Galena Park, Texas.