Diesel Spill

[skyhawk]

that common sense....

it's probably what the high dollar hazmat disposal folks do as well.....throw them into a furnace that's fired up anyway
But they figured out they could charge big bucks because it makes people feel good that it's being handled "properly", wink wink.....

 

[ctjstr]

there are a ton of things I could argue about as far as the billing, but they know that and that's why they charge the full 5k on your card, then another 6k, before you see any sort of itemization. Its just a strange kind of transaction because it has to be done almost as soon as its discovered. So as you're thinking about dinking around about the price, the coast guard is standing there asking for the phone so THEY just tell em come on down...and you get the bill later, for double or triple the original quote. If it were nice and warm and sunny, and not confined down in the closed end of a marina, half of it would have evaporated before they even got the call. But that ain't what happened so you just make the best of it.

 

[Barking Sands]

As others have said...thanks a bunch for sharing. Those dollar figures are sobering and put it into perspective.

 

[Insequent]

Some areas are more fussy than others, but Puget Sound does seem very particular. I bought my boat at Edmonds, the other end of the ferry ride from Kingston. It came with a grandfathered slip, so I stayed for a few months. When getting training required for the after hours self-serve fuel I was told that if I had a major spill who I needed to call ASAP. I asked, what's a major spill? The answer - a cupful of diesel! OK, right, got it! Be very careful not to spill a drop.....

Yet I've commented at other places about a sheen on the water with the obvious diesel smell and have been told - don't worry about reporting what you've seen, it evaporates quickly.

 

[psneeld]

Heck, I'd have just taken the bags of diesel soaked pigs home and burned them in my shop stove! End use would have been for heating, so they wouldn't even have been classified as hazardous waste! No transport permits, no disposal costs, etc. Perfectly legal, and inexpensive too!

Not legal for commercial transportation to do it that I know of....definitely over certain quantities.


The training and permit costs are extensive and expensive. The small hazmat cleanup company I worked for had to hire a specialist just to stay in compliance with regs and training.


Even waste oil heaters in some places have to be specially permitted.

 

[psneeld]

that common sense....

it's probably what the high dollar hazmat disposal folks do as well.....throw them into a furnace that's fired up anyway
But they figured out they could charge big bucks because it makes people feel good that it's being handled "properly", wink wink.....

read the Federal transport regs....wink...wink...


Federal hazardous materials transportation law

The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975 (HMTA) empowered the Secretary of Transportation to designate as hazardous material any "particular quantity or form" of a material that "may pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property."

 

[slowgoesit]

read the Federal transport regs....wink...wink...


Federal hazardous materials transportation law

The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975 (HMTA) empowered the Secretary of Transportation to designate as hazardous material any "particular quantity or form" of a material that "may pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property."

Ahhh, yes, but there is a HUGE difference between transporting hazardous MATERIALS, and transporting hazardous WASTES! End use (burning it in my shop stove) makes it a hazardous MATERIAL, vs transporting it to be DISPOSED of makes it a WASTE. Plus you get into exemptions for "household amounts", etc. ie; to transport 20 gallons for fuel to be used in my lawnmower (yes, my lawn is that big), or 20 gallons of diesel for my torpedo heater, falls under household amounts, whereas transporting 5000 gallons to a filling station is another animal entirely.

The key is understanding the CFR's, and not letting someone pigeon hole you into declaring something to be a WASTE when it can be legally classified as a MATERIAL.

(21 years as OSHA, Hazmat, etc experience . . . dated, but most still valid!)

 

[psneeld]

Something I came across...


Consider the following examples of actual cleanup costs incurred for spills in the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary area:

• A spill of two barrels (84 gallons of oil) cost the company $6,094 for labor and equipment. That comes to $72.55 per gallon.
• A spill of 8 gallons cost $41,717, or more than $5,000 per gallon.
• A spill of only 6/10 gallon (less than 5 pints) of oil cost the company $8,672.

https://www.mfcp.com/our-blog/small-oil-spill-can-cost-more-than-you-think-oil-spill-supplies

 

[skyhawk]

I was watching the trawler master class.."An Achievable Dream"
He was speaking about the oil seeps offshore form california that have been there basically forever.... Think it does the same lots of places.... how many gallons and how much for that clean up?!

 

[garychurch]

Almost had a similar problem with Diesel engine fuel return. As many of you may know many Diesel engines use excess fuel for cooling and return this excess to the fuel tank feeding the engines(s).

However, I didn’t realize that there were non labeled values on my boat that can redirect the excess flow to other separate fuel tanks. Needless to say one of these valves was accidentally changed and redirected excess return fuel to the forward fuel tank not the mains from which it was drawn. Could have easily led to a significant diesel fill. Fortunately caught it just in time.

Ignorance is not bliss.

 

[backinblue]

A friend has a gas boat, Egg Harbor in the 32 ft range. Had a gas tank leak into the bilge and bilge pumps, pumped it out. +/-100 gallons I think. I don't think it was noticed or caused him any cleanup issues, though tank replacements were not cheap.

 

[rslifkin]

A friend has a gas boat, Egg Harbor in the 32 ft range. Had a gas tank leak into the bilge and bilge pumps, pumped it out. +/-100 gallons I think. I don't think it was noticed or caused him any cleanup issues, though tank replacements were not cheap.

Gas is usually considered a much lesser issue, as it evaporates much faster. So the impact on the surrounding marine environment is typically much smaller relative to the amount spilled.

 

[psneeld]

Even small amounts of diesel unless its cold and in a dead space rarely get cleaned up in places I have been.

 

[johnrupp]

Even small amounts of diesel unless its cold and in a dead space rarely get cleaned up in places I have been.

What does the cold have to do with it?

John

 

[rslifkin]

What does the cold have to do with it?

John

Slower evaporation, so fuel will spread further and get on more stuff.

 

[johnrupp]

Makes sense

 

[SteveK]

Bilge Guard

This would not have helped a situation as the OP had.

Worrying about a diesel leak pumped over by the bilge pumps made me find and install this bilge guard.
Tested in a bucket and it will not pump diesel, add water to raise the diesel above sensor and the pumps turn on until fuel/oil is sensed and off again.

 

[backinblue]

This would not have helped a situation as the OP had.

Worrying about a diesel leak pumped over by the bilge pumps made me find and install this bilge guard.
Tested in a bucket and it will not pump diesel, add water to raise the diesel above sensor and the pumps turn on until fuel/oil is sensed and off again.
View attachment 114327

That's interesting, never knew such a thing existed. I would only question (and maybe you already have the answer) what damage the diesel could do, electrically or otherwise, if the level gets too high in the bilge?

 

[SteveK]

That's interesting, never knew such a thing existed. I would only question (and maybe you already have the answer) what damage the diesel could do, electrically or otherwise, if the level gets too high in the bilge?

cross that bridge should I get to it. I also have high water alarm that alerts me remotely mitigating damages by prompt action to clean up.
No environmental concerns was the goal.

 

[BandB]

I really would be disappointed in PEMCO and would seek a true marine insurer, one that would immediately arrange help on an environmental claim. They keep clean up professionals on speed dial. You don't send adjusters on environmental claims, you send clean up crews.

 

[Jeff F]

I really would be disappointed in PEMCO and would seek a true marine insurer, one that would immediately arrange help on an environmental claim. They keep clean up professionals on speed dial. You don't send adjusters on environmental claims, you send clean up crews.

That was my thought. One call should trigger immediate action, if not for the customer but to mitigate a possibly very large claim.