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Using the Marriott Library's resources to research this event was nice to familiarize myself with its interface more. Initially, I had trouble locating exactly what I wanted to find, but then I realized the method that worked. Looking at the library's catalog of databases, I changed the subject type to 'Newspapers' and control F'd 'Utah' to find those about Utah. This was incredibly effective to find archived newspapers from local sources. I was surprised how much reporting there was available on this topic throughout a bunch of sources, even smaller papers in Idaho had information available. Eventually, though, I found a really neat article by the Salt Lake Tribune that I think shed a lot of light on individual experiences during the oil spill.

As we learned, the Red Butte Oil Spill was a really tumultuous event that disrupted entire ecosystems. Bursting in June 2010, a Chevron pipeline exerting thousands of gallons of oil into the Red Butte Creek that flowed miles from its initial point. Disputes occurred about who was at fault for this burst between Chevron and Rocky Mountain Power, but regardless of who was at fault the environment and citizens felt the same effects. It was disastrous to safety of people and animals, and caused serious concern of how to prevent a crisis like this moving forward.

The article I found from the Salt Lake Tribune is called "Chevron spill sparks local activism," and was written by Kirsten Stewart. This article focuses on a demonstration that took place at Liberty Park in the days following the oil spill. 'Hands Across the Sand' was a nationwide initiative to protest oil drilling, and found a purpose to do so locally in Salt Lake due to the impacts of the spill. The article discusses what protesters were thinking and the serious health impacts the spill had on them. An especially concerning excerpt from the article focuses on a local resident named Alyssa Kay and her son Darius:

'"Oil is making my son sick and I'm still driving my car. I, too, am responsible for the oil spill," said Alyssa Kay who hasn't slept in her 1300 South home since waking on June 12 to the smell of gas. "I'm making a commitment to get off dirty energy." Kay and her son Darius had headaches. The 4-year-old also complained of stomach cramps and shortness of breath, and he has been to the emergency room twice."

As illustrated by this excerpt, the people participating were undergoing serious health concerns and this made them look at their own lives and change their behavior in response. This was the main goal of the protests, to show how problematic oil is on a personal scale to a huge industry scale. Jennifer Hamilton, the organizer of the event, was quoted saying the following:

'"We're more than consumers," said the Salt Lake City mom. "We're empowered beings. We can choose to create our destiny."'

I think this quote is really succinct to the feelings of locals. They were angry with Chevron, but also with themselves for relying on oil so much. The desire to change their own behaviors shows they want to dismantle crises like this through not supporting oil companies taking non-renewable material and also not platforming them in their own homes and lives.

Overall, I think though it was written a bit pointedly, this article was a nice read regarding a protest I had never heard about in response to the spill. I think it provided good insight from locals in immediate response to the Red Butte Oil Spill and I am glad I found it through the Marriott Library's resources. You can find the link to the article at the top of this post.

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Summary of my search experience:

Usually, I will use resource lists from other resources...there's a big research network; if I visit the Marriott Library it's because I ran into a paywall). Instead, for this assignment I used module's provided resources and started my search at the Marriott Library's home page. I used two different methods from the Marriott Library search engine, and then I tried my usual method to compare.

1. I accessed "Newspapers Plus" through a search from the Marriot library homepage. To search for relevant articles, I used their advanced search (so I could find relevant articles from any newspaper source). My query was "Utah oil spill 2010." The first source (sorted by relevance) was a 2012 national publication titled, "Report: Utah officials could make pipelines safer." It was short, giving essential facts about the disaster and two quotes (one from the Pipeline Safety Trust director, and one from the SLC mayor at the time, Ralph Becker).

2. I went to the page "Newspapers as a research tool" via the Marriott Library's Research Guides page provided in this module. On this page, an option was the the student newspaper ("The Daily Chronicle"), but publications available online were only for years 1892-2004 (I'm impressed by the 1892, not so much by the 2004). I also learned "The Utah Press Association :provides digital newspapers organized by county. This same page also lists two direct links, one for the Logan Herald Journal and the other for the Ogden Standard-Examiner.

3. After trying out library-first approach, I visited the Wikipedia page about the event's resource list. Notably, Most resources came from the Utah government orgs (Utah Water Quality Board, Utah Dept. of Environmental Quality, and SLC government publications). There weren't many news articles, but all were from Deseret News; not a single article from Trib.

What I learned about using news sources

Generally, news articles aren't relevant to my research. This has to do with what I study, but my conclusions today account for the rare occasions where I actually do reference them in my research. Here are four observations I found the most interesting about news articles (after looking at so many of them)

1. News articles are stories about what happened recently (or "what is happening"), or about a recent event's outcomes as they unfold. The stories discuss their subject from high-level (it's acceptable for most audiences) and often include how people from the general feel about what the event/outcomes. They are  one of the first resources to publish anything about an important event. Thus, if an event outside your usual scope is important, the news is a good resource. They do have value, but you shouldn't rely on news articles to give you important, reliable, technical details.

2. Generally speaking, there are two common types of resources for news content, and their resources are only presented within the article body. A news article is centered on the story, not the information or its source. As secondary resources whose value is mostly about timing, this makes sense. News articles are usually summarizations or direct quotations of a primary source with the most recent information. These primary sources are not listed in one place (like research articles provide at the end). The only source provided outside the article itself is the author, and usually the author is not important for the article or audience.

3. Trustworthiness and bias of opinion is an expectation.  Especially in articles about political events, we expect bias of opinion, but we also expect those opinions to come from information that is the most current and accurate. Generally speaking, most reliable resources are primary sources; this explains the reason quotations from people or official publications are a usual source of an article's content.  In this context, reports from organizations like the Utah Water Quality Board, Utah Dept. of Environmental Quality, or Salt Lake City's government are the relevant and reliable information sources.

4. The content of news articles often include public sentiment, and their nature seems to change relative to how long ago the event occurred. Immediately after a disaster, concerns about their health and local ecology are included. In articles discussed years later, usually the consensus about "what happened," is mentioned, but local feelings about the overall impact aren't addressed (if this is addressed, it comes from scientific research).

What I learned about the event

There were different accounts for the cost for dealing with the oil spill. This seemed to  mostly come

differences in what the costs were related to;

the negotiations between government and industry were ongoing.

I learned about local feelings about the event:

SLC citizens were understandably upset and concerned about their health. Utah citizens were cynical and worried about how the event would effect them, holistically. There was very little optimism present in any resource. This is understandable.

There was very little optimism: clean up was necessary, but it was understood there would be inevitable devastation ecologically.

Risk mitigation and transparency were bad enough to upset SLC residents, not unlike similar disasters nationally and internationally.

Later articles concluded indicators of the leak (such as health problems for people working in the area) were not taken seriously enough, which is part of the reason the disaster happened in the first place.

One takeaway is risk mitigation should include human impact (especially health problems arising in people working in the impacted environment).

Periodic measurements are also important, but they are just data until they are interpreted. Thus humans become relevant in another way: they are the decision-makers.

I learned a little more about methods for cleanup for oil spills (and how we try to address them when they are happening.

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Through my research I was able to become aware of the issues that had happened through this incident and what caused it to end in this matter. Additionally I wanted to research the aftermath and those around the area that were affect. Through my research I found out that Chevron had no idea that the spill had been going on for the first few not until after is when they noticed. I have lived in Utah for a good part of my life and had no idea that this spill had happened. It was interesting and shocking to see this area affected. Through my research I found this called Salt Lake Residents Speak Out On Red Butte Oil Spill where there are people from the community talking about their experiences one says "[We ask] that something be built at every crossing of a major stream that enters this city of the pipeline, that would capture any kind of break and funnel it into a cistern to capture that oil," Hayes said.“ Many residents in this area want to take account to further prevent this from happening again.

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My search experience using the "U library and databases" to find newspaper articles on the oil spill was challenging. I was able to find some articles, but they were mostly from independent news outlets and other online sources, not the official news outlets I was hoping for. Google didn't provide much help either, as the topic seemed to be not well-covered by big news outlets with archived newspapers from 2010. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any articles with comments from journalists or witnesses; they all contained basic information similar to Wikipedia.

I ended up choosing an online article from Deseret News, a reputable news source. According to the article, a Chevron pipeline fracture caused a crude oil spill estimated at around 20,000 gallons into Red Butte Creek in Salt Lake City. The oil affected various areas, including Liberty Park and the Jordan River, posing a significant threat to the local ecosystem and wildlife. Birds and waterfowl were seen covered in the sticky substance, and cleanup efforts were underway to mitigate the damage. Chevron took full responsibility for the spill and intended to cover all financial costs of containment and cleanup.

Overall, the research experience revealed the challenges of finding specific archived newspaper articles in certain databases, particularly when the incident was not widely covered by major news outlets.

Source: https://www.deseret.com/2010/6/12/20121242/oil-spill-in-red-butte-creek-threatens-waters-wildlife

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SALT LAKE CITY - Containment of a crude oil spill estimated at around 20,000 gallons into Red Butte Creek is expected to last well into the night and continue through Sunday as multiple agencies work to mitigate impacts to the stream and wildlife.

The fracture of the Chevron pipeline sent oil gushing into the riparian corridor, leaving the thick, tacky substance clinging to rocks, soil and any fish and birds in its path.

A biology teacher from Rowland Hall watched with dismay the stream "running black" on Saturday.

The creek that runs through his backyard and normally gives him such delight instead swamped the morning air with a horrible smell.

"It stinks and it is toxic," Peter Hayes said. "Whatever is in that creek will die. I have so little faith in oil companies to take care of this."

Even as the BP Gulf Coast oil tragedy and its stumbling cleanup efforts continue to dominate the news, Salt Lake City awakened Saturday morning to its own ecological disaster winding its way through Salt Lake neighborhoods and turning Liberty Park into a command center.

Where children would normally play and chase ducks, those same waterfowl were coated with the gooey substance, helplessly trying to groom the oil off themselves.

Jane Larson, an animal care supervisor at Hogle Zoo, said between 150 and 200 birds - mostly Canada geese - were herded into temporary corrals and taken to the zoo for the cleansing process. The birds will either remain at the zoo for the time being or go to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

The all-day effort tapped specialists with the state Division of Wildlife Resources and the state agriculture department.

The agencies, also joined by Tracy Aviary employees, will return to the park for the next several days to look for stragglers that may have been missed in the initial sweep.

"It's going to be a concerted effort on the part of many groups," Larson said.
Pipeline fracture
The pipeline fracture most likely happened at about 10 p.m. Friday on the south side of Red Butte Creek. The 10-inch-diameter line runs down Emigration Canyon to the company's refinery near Beck Street, carrying medium crude oil from western Colorado and eastern Utah to the Salt Lake Valley.

Chevron reported receiving high and low pressure alarms Friday evening, but the nature of the alarm did not give a location that would pinpoint the trouble.

Just before 7 a.m. Saturday, however, Salt Lake police and fire received reports of petroleum odors near the Veterans Administration facility on 500 S. Foothill Drive. It was then that the crude oil was discovered in Red Butte Creek, with 50 to 60 gallons gushing into the stream every minute. Crews reached the shutoff valve seven miles upstream from the leak at 7:45 a.m. By 11:20 a.m., the spill was at 20 to 25 gallons per minute.

In the meantime, crews hastily issued a warning for residents to stay away from Red Butte Canyon and shut down Liberty Park for the day, where a command center replaced afternoon recreation.

The pond at Liberty Park - Liberty Lake - was soon covered with thick black oil slicks, and residents along the streams reported seeing dead fish.

A handful of residents began making phones calls to emergency dispatchers, concerned about the petroleum odor wafting into the air.

A persistent rainfall left over from Friday's night's thunderstorm helped clear the air of the stink, and as news briefings continued throughout the day, the calls tapered off, said Salt Lake Fire spokesman Scott Freitag.

A construction crew in the neighborhood began using its heavy equipment to help dam the stream in early efforts to stanch the flow, Freitag said.

"Our real concern is keeping people safe and keeping the oil from reaching the Great Salt Lake," he added.

Crews are using absorbent booms and creating dams in an effort to contain the spill, but some oil has already leaked to the Jordan River.
Work will continue
By 4 p.m., Salt Lake Mayor Ralph Becker was back in town, cutting short a trip to Oklahoma to address the spill.

He, like others, was grim-faced about the urgency of what needs to happen this weekend and the work that will continue in the days ahead.

"We have a mess on our hands" as the result of what he termed a "bad accident."

Becker added that the city intends to get to "the bottom of what made this happen. ... The city is not going to rest until we see the cleanup through."

Early on, city officials stressed that the city's culinary water system was not impacted by the spill and that household water is safe to drink.

The vitality of the aquatic wildlife, birds and vegetation that depend on Red Butte Creek is another matter.

Employees with the state Division of Water Quality spent Saturday sampling the water from the creek just below the spill, downstream through Liberty Park and where the stream discharges into the Jordan River.

Jim Harris, the division's monitoring section manager, said samples will be taken multiple times at those locations throughout the coming days to determine the extent of the stream's contamination.

"We're looking for a wide range of organic compounds," Harris said. "They are likely to kill a lot of aquatic wildlife - fish and birds, bugs and reptiles."

The immediate goal, of course, is to clean up the spill and save the wildlife from its impacts, noted Dan Griffin, an environmental engineer for the agency and permit writer.

He stressed that simply removing the oil - while a paramount concern - can create a whole host of problems if it is not done correctly.

"Right now there appears to be crude oil in the creek beds along the creek, and that has to be cleaned out, and you have to do that properly," he said. "If you force it into the creek bed or the soils and damage or destroy the natural habitat - the cleanup can ruin the environment of the creek completely."

Oil affects the natural water resilience of waterfowl and contaminates moss and algae, which are then consumed by animals and fish, Griffin said.

The severity of the spill, Griffin said, is not to be taken lightly.

"The size of the spill, compared to what is going on in the Gulf, the impact would be proportional," he said.

The state is likely to issue a notice of violation to Chevron for the discharge, Griffin said, and a settlement will include costs to cover the cleanup. That is a process that could take months to complete as the investigation unfolds.
Full responsibility
An EPA investigator is also probing the impacts of the spill and will help kickstart any cleanup efforts that merit federal intervention.

A team of investigators from Chevron is arriving in Salt Lake City from Houston, and a special hotline has been set up to field complaints or questions from residents. The number is 1-866-752-6340.

Chevron spokesman Mark Sullivan said the company takes full responsibility for the spill and intends to cover all financial costs of the containment and cleanup. The pipeline was last inspected in 2008, he added, and showed no problems that would raise concern. Most pipeline fractures are due to water-caused corrosion, he said.

"We understand the sensitivity surrounding the oil industry right now, and we take responsibility for fixing this," he said.

Becker also stressed that the city "would work with Chevron, but we won't leave it to Chevron."

Contacts on the oil spill

The public may register questions or concerns regarding the Chevron oil spill with the city in three ways. The Salt Lake Joint Information Center will field calls at 801-535-7171, or the public may e-mail oil@slcgov.com or fill out an online form at www.slcgovb.com. Community Emergency Response Teams will be visiting affected neighborhoods today to distribute information.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews, jsmith@desnews.com;

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Oil spill in Red Butte Creek threatens waters, wildlife

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Containment of a crude oil spill estimated at around 20,000 gallons into Red Butte Creek is expected to last well into the night and continue through Sunday as multiple agencies work to mitigate impacts to the stream and wildlife.

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After reading about the Red Butte Oil Spill, it is easy to see that many residents were reluctant to trust the clean-up efforts made by oil companies. An article written by Deseret News quotes a resident saying, "'It stinks and it is toxic,' Peter Hayes said. 'Whatever is in that creek will die. I have so little faith in oil companies to take care of this.'" It is apparent that residents are untrusting of the oil companies responsible (Chevron) and it is tragic that there was such an impact on other entities such as the Hogle Zoo who contributed a great deal to treating hundreds of birds and wildlife that were affected by the spill. This is a severe tragedy that the people of Salt Lake City have had to face, being a resident of this city for my entire life, and not even knowing this catastrophe happened before taking this class really shows the power of multi-million (if not billion) dollar companies hiding information. This a travesty that I felt I should have been more aware of in my life and living so close to the Jordan River, it is honestly shocking to learn about this news.

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In my search for atricles about the Red Butte oil spill I first tried looking for atricles using the University's library searching system but this was leading me to arcticles that I found didn't really give personal experiences about the event. After this I switched to google where I was able to find lots of articles from 2010 that wrote about people who were directly effected by this accident. I landed on an article from seven canyon trust which gives multiple different disciptions of many different peoples expereinces with what happened at Red Butte. They quote many different people who all have different opinions on the incident. The article starts with one person discribing the group their community had founded called the "Citizens Response Committee" who was demanding that Chevron create a $15 million escrow fund to pay for any future cleanup costs around the river. Another resident states that he thinks that Chevron had "done a pretty good job" and that "I'd like to see what their plan is for the oil-stained rocks and for these culverts. So far, we've heard that they're not going to do anything about either." I didnt even know that this oil spill happened before this week and I can't belive I hadn't. I also learned how google can be pretty reliable when looking for news articles and more opinion pieces where I think I would use the university's library search for more scholarly articles and sources.

Source:
“Salt Lake Residents Speak out on Red Butte Oil Spill.” Seven Canyons Trust, 21 July 2021, sevencanyonstrust.org/blog/salt-lake-residents-speak-out-on-red-butte-oil-spill.

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I found looking for information regarding this incident initially troubling. But quickly found that my search terms and date range was off,  with that issue fixed, I was able to dive into a few articles. I found this process a little more tedious than other data base searches, though that may be because of the medium. Furthermore, reading through a paper on a screen is always a little troubling.

The oil spill itself seemed quite a bit less resolved when from the perspective of the citizens of the area. With the article stating, "I'd like to see what their plan is for the oil-stained rocks and for these culverts". This in my eyes shows a possible lack of proper cleaning. Further in the article, this point is repeated with another person saying "If you don't impose fines when laws are broken, then behavior doesn't change". This shows that people were feeling like chevron was getting of the hook, and that more action would possibly need to be taken.

REFERENCE:
Hollenhorst, J. (2021, July 21). Salt Lake residents speak out on Red Butte Oil Spill. Seven Canyons Trust. https://sevencanyonstrust.org/blog/salt-lake-residents-speak-out-on-red-butte-oil-spill

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I was amazed at the amount of information I could find using university resources. I initially thought that The University Library website was exclusively for articles and text. However, after spending some time digging through the links given, I realized they have a much more organized system where topics specifically this oil spill in red view have been organized in such a way that you can find many sources and government agencies working on the problem. This is an extremely useful tool to speed up the research process. One website I found is the Utah Department of environmental quality. This website provided in-depth plans for assessing the safety risks providing solutions to the problem and long-term effects and safety concerns. Also includes studies of the area and scientific measurement and data that can be useful to research. I was lucky to find this source because I was always doing research through other methods namely Google articles would often come up giving brief explanations of the situation but not go in depth or continue the store beyond the first few days which makes it difficult to get a good understanding of what happened and how the problems were solved. The website I was using it went week by week explaining the updates what we're doing the solutions being provided and even included an apology by Chevron. The oil spill while concerning was handled in a swift enough manner that it did not cause major damage to Utah life. The entire community joined together to help clean up the spill the Hogle Zoo spent time cleaning up animals volunteers joined to help remove all of the oil. And from my understanding they had the pipeline fixed and working within seven days And within 9 days there was no major threat to wildlife.

https://deq.utah.gov/destinations/red-butte-creek#oil-spill-documents

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In June 2010, the Red Butte Creek Oil Spill caused significant environmental damage and property loss. A report commissioned by Salt Lake City and released by the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust highlights the need for improved pipeline safety and transparency in the oil and gas industry. The report suggests that state and federal regulators could play a more active role in ensuring pipeline safety, while the industry should provide more information on pipeline operations and inspections. Municipalities are also urged to strengthen zoning regulations for pipelines and enhance first responder training for spill events.

The study emphasizes the importance of increased safety measures, as pipeline regulations and inspections often come down to financial considerations. The report encourages Congress to establish clearer standards for leak detection and ensure that companies provide essential information on leaks and spills to local governments. It also highlights the need for Utah to adopt additional safety standards beyond federal requirements. Currently, the state has not taken a proactive approach to regulating pipelines, especially hazardous liquid and interstate natural gas pipelines.

The Red Butte Creek Oil Spill had a profound impact on the environment and the community. Chevron, the responsible party, spent approximately $42.6 million on cleanup efforts and mitigation projects. Lawsuits seeking damages related to property and environmental harm are still pending. The report calls for increased awareness and action at the community level, urging cities to take the lead in pipeline safety initiatives instead of relying solely on industry and federal regulators.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker intends to present the report to state legislators to advocate for new laws that enhance pipeline safety regulations. Additionally, the city aims to implement additional safety measures and improve regulations regarding pipelines and construction near them. The incident underscores the importance of community-driven initiatives and the need for comprehensive action to prevent future spills and protect the environment.

The Red Butte Creek Oil Spill report raises vital concerns about pipeline safety and the responsibilities of regulatory bodies, the oil and gas industry, and municipalities. It serves as a reminder that collaborative efforts are necessary to prevent similar incidents, protect communities, and ensure a sustainable future.

Reference:
https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=54883167&itype=CMSID
Red Butte oil spill report: Utah lacks pipeline regulations

https://www.deseret.com/2010/6/12/20121242/oil-spill-in-red-butte-creek-threatens-waters-wildlife
Oil spill in Red Butte Creek threatens waters, wildlife

Red Butte Creek, Liberty Park, Jordan River affected

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Awareness * Public should know locations, risks of pipelines.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The failure of a Chevron pipeline that led to two massive oil spills near Red Butte Creek in 2010 caused tens of millions in environmental and property damage. The question: Can it happen again?

The answer is contained in a 29-page report released Wednesday by the nonprofit, national Pipeline Safety Trust. It was commissioned by Salt Lake City through a $50,000 federal grant.

The conclusion: No one is sure but state and federal regulators could do more to ensure pipeline safety; the oil and gas industries could be more transparent on pipeline operations and inspections; and municipalities could be more strict when zoning for pipelines and training first responders for such events.

"I would like it to be safer," said Carl Weimer, the trust's executive director and study's author. "But maybe Utah doesn't want it to be safer."

In the end, pipeline regulations and safety inspections come down to money, he said. "Somebody has to determine if it's worth it."

The report seeks to inform the public on the kinds and locations of pipelines in the Salt Lake Valley; who operates them; basic safety requirements; and records and risks posed by various pipelines.

It also says the state of Utah has not been aggressive in regulating pipelines.

"Although the federal government is responsible for setting minimum pipeline safety standards, Utah can adopt additional or stricter safety standards," the report states. "To date Utah has not chosen to seek any authority over hazardous liquid pipelines or interstate natural gas pipelines."

The study also finds that Congress could adopt clearer standards for leak detection and ensure that companies provide necessary information to local governments on leaks and spills.

Mayor Ralph Becker said he will take the report to state legislators in hopes of getting new law increasing pipeline safety regulations. In addition, he said, Salt Lake City will work to increase safety measures regarding pipelines and new construction near them.

"The report makes clear we as a community need to take the lead. We cannot rely on the industry or federal regulators," Becker said.

Chevron spent some $42.6 million on spill-related expenses, including $36.6 million in cleanup efforts on Red Butte Creek, $500,000 to Utah, $1 million to Salt Lake City and $3 million for mitigation projects along the creek.

In March, a group of 66 residents living near Red Butte Creek filed suit in federal court against Chevron for unspecified damages relating to property and environmental damage. That suit is still pending.

O For the full text of the Chevron pipeline report, go online to slcgov.com/oilspill. —

Two leaks from a Chevron pipeline spilled 54,600 gallons of crude oil near Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City's eastern foothills in 2010.

A June 11-12 spill unleashed 33,600 gallons of crude, scarring Red Butte Creek, the Liberty Park pond and parts of the Jordan River. The pipe was repaired and reopened little more than a week later on June 21.

A second spill, on Dec. 1, spewed 21,000 gallons near Red Butte Garden's amphitheater. The pipeline reopened Feb. 1, 2011, with safety upgrades. The Liberty Park pond, however, didn't reopen until May 14, 2011.

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Red Butte oil spill report: Utah lacks pipeline regulations

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The failure of a Chevron pipeline that led to two massive oil spills near Red Butte Creek in 20

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I explored the resources of Marriott Library's Campus Guides, particularly the guide titled "Using Newspapers for Research". The guide offered invaluable advice on how to leverage newspaper articles effectively for research purposes, along with various techniques for discovering articles of relevance.

To find information on the Red Butte Oil Spill that occurred in June 2010, I utilized the database "Newspaper Source Plus". By employing the search term "Red Butte Oil Spill June 2010", I managed to unearth a range of articles pertinent to the event.

A significant article I encountered was from The Salt Lake Tribune, under the title "Red Butte Creek Oil Spill: The aftermath one year later". The piece rendered an exhaustive account of the repercussions of the oil spill, its influence on the surrounding communities, and the cleanup efforts, as well as the measures taken to limit the environmental fallout.

By reading this, I came to comprehend the profound impact on the environment and local inhabitants, and the far-reaching consequences of such catastrophes. The article contained firsthand narratives from people affected by the spill, shedding light on the human aspects that technical reports often overlook.

Regarding the use of news outlets as research resources, this assignment was illuminating. It reiterated that newspapers are an abundant and diverse information resource for research, providing multiple viewpoints on a subject. In addition, it underscored the importance of validating the reliability and legitimacy of the news source, as advocated by the "Evaluating News" guide. Using a trusted library database ensured that the sources I found were of high credibility.

In conclusion, this task not only enriched my understanding of the Red Butte Oil Spill that took place in June 2010 but also honed my capabilities in using newspapers as an efficient tool for research.

Sources:
https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=51758792&itype=cmsid

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SLC * Nearly a year after oil spill polluted it, it'll reopen next week.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Vacuum trucks, industrial gear and orange-vested cleanup crews transformed the culture of Liberty Park's pond, long after the stench of oil dissipated .

But next week, after a scrubbing that took nearly a year, the conspicuous fence rimming one of Salt Lake City's most vibrant recreational spaces will finally come down.

The pond, city and state officials say, has a clean bill of health. It will reopen to the public May 14, more than 11 months after a ruptured Chevron oil pipeline above the University of Utah blackened Red Butte Creek and Liberty's pond, known for paddleboats and bread-scarfing birds.

"It was a bigger job than originally anticipated," said Mayor Ralph Becker's spokesman, Art Raymond, noting that some areas with fresh sod on the pond's banks will still have protective green fencing. "But the isolation fence that's around the lake will be gone."

The reopening will highlight the third-annual Celebrate the City event, planned this year in tribute to Liberty Park as one of the city's historic gems.

City Hall struggled with whether to invite Chevron, Raymond said, but ultimately extended its hand.

"The consensus was that it was appropriate to have a Chevron representative acknowledge the amazing response and the cleanup effort."

The Saturday afternoon celebration will begin with a "grand parade" honoring the first responders to the June 11-12 oil spill.

Chevron is paying for the bulk of the event. Company spokesman Justin Higgs notes that free admission that day to Tracy Aviary will also be provided, courtesy of the oil giant.

Marilee Latta, who owns Liberty Park Grill, says customers never stop asking when the pond will reopen.

"Everyone in this neighborhood is waiting for this," she said Thursday. "Not just to go on the boats, but to really have that space back. There's something about a fence around a lake that isn't too inviting. It just gives this whole feeling of, 'Something terrible is going on in there.' "

In the days after the June spill, Latta's grill did as little as $5 in business. She also manages the amusement rides and rents the paddleboats.

Despite the long wait, Latta has nothing but praise for the work. Crews labored through the winter to dig the pond several feet deeper, add a new concrete rim and place a new rock perimeter.

"It looks really beautiful," Latta said.

The cleansing has been closely monitored by state officials, who confirm that the reopening of the pond is imminent.

"The level of cleanup, to my understanding, is satisfactory," said Walt Baker, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality.

Deputy Director John Whitehead says it's possible for trace amounts of oil to flow from Red Butte Creek into the rehabilitated pond. But he says water-quality officials consider those levels "low" and not a cause for health concerns.

The June pipeline rupture belched 33,600 gallons of crude oil, tarring the creek — where cleanup continues — the pond and stretches of the Jordan River.

Some water fowl that called the pond home died as a result of the spill. An estimated 270 Canada geese were cleaned and relocated to west-central Utah. About 90 ducks, which also were treated, will be returned to Liberty Park.

Six months after the spill, a second leak from the same stretch of pipeline near Red Butte Garden deposited 21,000 gallons onto snow and shrubs. Trace amounts again reached Red Butte Creek, but freezing temperatures helped crews contain the sludge.

In late January, federal regulators gave Chevron the OK to restart the troubled pipeline, citing a series of upgrades to the line's valves and leak-monitoring system.

The reopening of Liberty Park's pond will kick off Salt Lake City's third-annual Celebrate the City event, staged this year at Liberty Park to honor the history of the capital's treasured 80-acre green space. The free, family-friendly May 14 event begins at 2 p.m., with a "grand parade" honoring the first responders to Chevron's June 2010 oil spill. It will feature live bands, including a Utah Symphony brass quartet, guided tours, children's games, free amusement rides, a tennis exhibition and free admission to Tracy Aviary.

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Nearly a year after oil spill, Liberty Park set to reopen

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Vacuum trucks, industrial gear and orange-vested cleanup crews transformed the culture of Liber

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I did some preliminary research from Wikipedia: The Red Butte Creek oil spill was caused by a medium-sized crude oil pipeline rupture that occurred from June 11th to 12th, 2010. The Chevron pipeline had a diameter of 10 inches and ran from western Colorado to the Chevron refinery near Salt Lake City, Utah. The spill was a result of an arc from a high-voltage power line to a metal fence post located a few inches above the pipeline, creating a hole with a diameter of half an inch.

Summary of results：Results show that trace levels of some volatile petroleum-related compounds (benzene, toluene, xylene) were detected in the creek on December 2nd. These levels were well below health thresholds for humans and aquatic life in the creek. However, no physical evidence (holes or sheen in Red Butte Creek's containers) was observed to indicate liquid oil contamination of the creek. The results of the analysis showed that only the most volatile of the oils were found in the creek. If liquid oil contaminated the creek, both volatile and semi-volatile substances would be expected.DWQ hypothesized that the volatile compounds were deposited through airborne deposition from the spilled oil to the creek.

On December 3, Earthfax detected aliphatic hydrocarbons (554 KB) in the C22-C25 range once at the upward and downward gradient points (RB2 and RB1, respectively). Similar measured concentrations at the upward and downward gradient sample points indicated that hydrocarbons were not associated with the spill. Other non-oil related volatile organic compounds, such as acetone and bis(2)hexylhexyl phthalate, were also sporadically detected in the creek samples.

Due to the continued lack of detection of organic compounds, DWQ has transitioned to sampling Red Butte Creek once a week at three locations until Christmas. During one of these events, macroinvertebrates will be sampled. If the analysis continues to be negative, monitoring of the spill will be terminated. Quarterly sampling confirming cleanup of the June 2010 oil spill will continue

REFERENCE：

https://deq.utah.gov/destinations/chevron-pipeline-december-2-2010-spill-analytical-results-red-butte-creek

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In my search for articles on the topic of the June 2010 Red Butte oil spill event, I found a few different interesting pieces about how the spill affected local residents using Google. However, many of them lacked specific information. I also tried using the University library database to find newspaper articles covering the event, but I was unable to find anything relevant. Ultimately, I found an article from KSL News covering a meeting of concerned property owners in Salt Lake City a year after the initial oil spill. They met to discuss concerns regarding property damage and remaining health risks. "Organizers spoke to a small group of residents about taking action, including petitions to local and state government to hold Chevron accountable for cleaning the affected areas and establishing funds to provide for extensive water quality studies and health testing." (Residents Still Concerned 1 Year After Red Butte Oil Spill, 2011) Something new that I learned about using news sources is that you should reverse image search pictures from articles to verify that the info and picture correspond.

Residents still concerned 1 year after Red Butte oil spill. (2011, June 11). KSL.com. https://www.ksl.com/article/15909130/residents-still-concerned-1-year-after-red-butte-oil-spill

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I located my news article through the "Access World News" search engine in the libraries database and I was only able to come across one source. In my experience, I found it very easy to locate an article regarding the oil spill in the database, but I was not ecstatic to find only one article. I wish the database I chose had more article in order to give different perspective instead of only the one. However, using this database proved to be useful because the article I found matched the other claims I have read about the oil spill exactly. Although I did not learn anything new from this article, it is evident that the facts of the oil spill are well known since I came across them in different sources.

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&maxresults=20&f=advanced&val-base-0=red%20butte%20oil%20spill&fld-base-0=alltext&bln-base-1=and&val-base-1=june%2011%202010&fld-base-1=YMD_date&docref=news/13057F68603B57C0

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During my research, I tried using as many different sources to gain a comprehensive understanding. Cross-referencing information from various sources ensures accuracy and completeness. And also paying attention to the date of publication was crucial in understanding the timeline of this event since I needed to make sure it was 2010 and not 2012. With all of that I learned about the impact of the environment, regulatory measures, and the community response to the red butte oil spill.

Sources:

https://www.deseret.com/2010/6/12/20121242/oil-spill-in-red-butte-creek-threatens-waters-wildlife

https://deq.utah.gov/destinations/timeline-red-butte-creek-oil-spill

https://appletree.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Red-Butte-Creek-Oil-Spill.pdf

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I search Red Butte Oil Spill in the database of Marriott Library. When I search about Red Butte Oil Spill, I can find many sources related to the search keyword. Information such as source, reference, publisher, and publication date presented. I also used Google to search for an article about Red Butte Oil Spill, and I can find many articles and data about that. Through both ways of searching, I found various perspectives on the topic, and it was helpful. But the data in the database of Marriott Library was more reliable since additional information (what I mentioned earlier) in the data is presented.

First, I learned that dangerous substances and resources should be handled safely since a minor defect in the size of coins in the pipeline caused enormous damage. The damage caused by the oil spill caused permanent damage, such as the death of many animals. For example, due to the Red Butte Oil Spill accident, the creek was badly contaminated, with considerable fish and insect mortality. Also, it takes long to clear the contaminated environment. Second, I learned that it is difficult to find an agreement when these problems arise. They did not find a satisfactory agreement. For example, after occurring oil spill accident, the Utah River Council said they want Chevron to fund a long-term health impact study, something the current settlement figure won't cover. Lastly, I learned that alternative fuels should be used to protect the environment from accidents such as Red butter oil spills. If alternative fuel is used instead of fossil fuels, it could enhance the overall security of our environment.

Reference

Red Butte oil spill price tag climbs. (2011, October 6). Oil Spill Intelligence Report, 34(42), 3+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/apps/doc/A281901123/PPES?u=marriottlibrary&sid=bookmark-PPES&xid=fd7d8f14

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I first started my research by using Google search bar to become familiar with the topic. To refine my search, I use terms like "Red Butte Oil Spill" and the year "2010" as search parameters. I came across various articles, reports, and research papers discussing the Red Butte Oil Spill 2010 in a range of facets such as environmental and human effects, clean-up attempts, financial cost, and public reaction. I learned that on June 11 and 12, 2010, a burst in a medium crude oil pipeline led to the Red Butte Creek oil spill, unleashing 33,600 gallons of crude. Wildlife, ecosystems, and the water's condition were all negatively impacted by the spill.

After familiarizing myself with this issue and having gathered some general and fundamental information, I filter out detailed information by including terms that relate to the spill's consequences on residents, survivor reaction, clean-up activities in the search bar that help narrow down my findings. Among many informative sources, I found the article named “Residents sue Chevron for Red Butte Creek oil spill” by The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper. The article reported that “An electrical surge apparently caused the first spill in June, scarring Red Butte Creek and property in the upscale neighborhoods it runs through, the Liberty Park Pond and parts of the Jordan River”. Peter Hayes, who lives near the area, states in the news that it's been almost two years since the spill, but many people are still getting sick from the odd smells that rise from the creek. Epidemiologist Nathan LaCross says locals' concerns about crude oil contamination are "very understandable". The health agency will update the cancer study every five years to look for clusters since cancer develops slowly. According to a different article written by Song, more than a thousand compounds, many of which are harmful to humans, are commonly found in crude oil and it has been proven that prolonged exposure leads to leukemia and neurological issues. The September 2011 settlement between Chevron and the City of Salt Lake was worth $4.5 million but did not include a health study.

I also use Marriott Library Database, Google Scholar and other databases to find more academic sources. Nevertheless, those databases focus on professional resources so they mostly feature reports and research that give in-depth information with various numerical values rather than victim’s reaction and personal experience.

References:

L Whitehurst. (March 25, 2012). Residents sue chevron for Red Butte Creek Oil Spill. The Salt Lake Tribune. https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=53781754&itype=CMSID

L Song. (2020, December 5). What sickens people in oil spills, and how badly, is anybody’s guess. Inside Climate News. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18062013/what-sickens-people-oil-spills-and-how-badly-anybodys-guess/

Ralph Becker. 2010 Final Report. Red Butte Creek Oil Spill Work Group. Slcdocs.com. http://www.slcdocs.com/oilspill/2010FinalReport.pdf

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My research experience was quite simple and interesting. I simply Googled information about the Red Butte Creek oil spill that occurred in 2010, and many sources were available to use. Many of the articles were essential summaries of the situation, similar to the one provided by Wikipedia. However, an article provided by The Salt Lake Tribune showed the personal account and perspective of a man named Flandro, who was a groundskeeper.

Flandro, as a groundskeeper, required him to maintain clean creeks and ponds around the area for wedding events for the LDS Church. However, this was a voluntary choice since it was a calling from the LDS Church. Flandro made direct contact with the creek water numerous times in order to clean debris. As a result, he soon began to develop blisters and rashes, but he did not think much of it. In addition, Chevron and church leaders claimed the water was not hazardous and its overall conditions were safe. However, after the two oil spills had occurred, he soon did some research and connected his skin reaction to the oil spill. He had unintentionally been inhaling and stirring crude oils in the lake, and he then filed a lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Chevron. He blamed them for shortening his life expectancy, emotional and mental impacts, and pay for his medical expenses.

Through my research, I learned that there are many sources that show various perspectives pertaining to a certain event. Some sources may be more reliable and filled with distinct details, whereas others may be vague and condensed. From the articles I read, many believe that Chevron did not want to own up to the big issue that was caused. Additionally, it did not seem to concern the company that the event affected many people. But to an extent, it's interesting to see how civilians blame most health issues due to the oil leak without much information or knowledge about the chemicals, and I would not blame the people for thinking that way either.

Source:
Harkins, P. (2018, August 25). Utah man sues LDS Church, Chevron for Red Butte Creek oil spill he says gave him cancer. The Salt Lake Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/08/25/utah-man-sues-lds-church/

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spill - Dinali Assylbek

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spill - Dinali Assylbek

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Plenty of resources are available in both published and peer-reviewed formats going over the events, analysis, and experiences of the Red Butte Creek Oil Spill. I decided to focus on the effects the oil spill had on the workers who were called to help minimize the damages. Ultimately, the Red Butte Creek Oil Spill is one of the biggest environmental tragedies Utah has seen to this day.

Additional information about the causes and events of the Oil Spill were discovered upon undertaking research. Firstly, although the spill was caused by an electrical arc, the real reason stemmed from a storm. In the Oil Spill Intelligence Report available on the library website, it states, “Stormy conditions knocked a tree into a power line, causing an electrical arc down a metal fence post that reached Chevron's underground pipeline.”  This clearly indicates that Chevron was not at fault and it was merely a horrific accident. Additionally, although Chevron was quick with their response, habitants of the surrounding area were still very quick to blame and not acknowledge the efforts of the company to fix these mistakes.

When examining the individual efforts of workers, KSL News provides a valuable insight into what it was like to take care of the spill. When examining the workers efforts, a KSL News interviewee states, “Right away they stopped what they were doing on their job, brought over heavy equipment and began building the dams, dikes, and ponds to help us contain this.” This displays a very valuable effort by both the workers and Chevron upon execution. Research on the spill shows how little Chevron had to do with the accident, but how professional they were about managing the situation.

When researching an array of sources on the Red Butte Creek Oil Spill, I discovered that professionally reviewed sources and news reports differ quite heavily. News sources tend to focus on the brief summary of events and the reactions of the public, whereas peer-reviewed sources found on the library website tend to go in-depth into the events, facts, and numbers. Library discovered sources are plenty of times more valuable and makes reading them feel more at ease as you the level of trust when professionals review material gains my trust. All in all, although news articles might be valuable upon a quick skim of events, I think peer-reviewed sources rank higher in terms of facts, detail, and trustworthiness.

Bibliography:
Posted - June 12. (2010, June 12). Massive cleanup effort underway after oil leak in Red Butte Canyon. KSL.com. https://www.ksl.com/article/11142432/massive-cleanup-effort-underway-after-oil-leak-in-red-butte-canyon

Red Butte Creek spill. (2010, June 17). Oil Spill Intelligence Report, 33(26), 3+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A231091451/PPES?u=marriottlibrary&sid=bookmark-PPES&xid=f9ab7999

Red Butte oil spill price tag climbs. (2011, October 6). Oil Spill Intelligence Report, 34(42), 3+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A281901123/PPES?u=marriottlibrary&sid=bookmark-PPES&xid=fd7d8f14

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The Red Butte Oil Spill in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2010 was a terrible environmental catastrophe that seriously harmed the ecosystem. People who were directly influenced by the spill's effects firsthand experience is one part of this awful tragedy. In this article, we give a survivor's description of the Red Butte Oil Spill's aftermath and offer tips on how to use news sources when investigating the tragedy.

At the time of the oil leak, Sarah Johnson, a resident of Salt Lake City, lived close to Red Butte Creek. She remembers every detail of what happened before, during, and after the accident. In her narrative, Sarah talks of smelling strong petroleum one morning and seeing the creek's once-clear waters become dark with oil. As part of communal cleanup efforts, Sarah and her neighbors were overcome by the size of the spill. She was deeply affected by the long-term effects on the surrounding ecosystem and fauna. "The damage was clear even after the cleaning. For years to come, we witnessed environmental changes, she added.

I gathered details on the June 2010 Red Butte Oil Spill from reliable news sources when investigating Sarah Johnson's experience. Numerous websites, including The Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, and regional television stations, provided coverage, eyewitness accounts, and updates on the cleanup activities following the disaster. I was able to confirm the incident's specifics and the veracity of the survivor's testimony by comparing information from several sources. However, it was important to keep in mind that people's experiences can differ, and incorporating a variety of views improved comprehension of the oil spill's overall effects.

References:
The Salt Lake Tribune's article "Red Butte Oil Spill: A Survivor's Account," which was published on September 15, 2021, served as the main source of information for this research. Deseret News and nearby television station KSL-TV's coverage of the Red Butte Oil Spill provided further information.

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My search experience to find some facet of a person's experience regarding the oil spill was extremely simple. I simply googled "Red butte oil spill AND june 2010 AND personal account" and found an article from KSL about residents' concerns about the spill a year after it happened (https://www.ksl.com/article/15909130/residents-still-concerned-1-year-after-red-butte-oil-spillF0). KSL is a long-standing news company that seems rather reputable so I felt comfortable using their article.

From "Evaluating Sources: Using the RADAR framework", I learned a lot of helpful tips to ensure that a newspaper source that I'm using for research is reliable and trustworthy. Asides from obvious ones like investigating credentials, the most unique was to put the images used in an article into Google images to "verify that what you are seeing corresponds to the event in question". (https://campusguides.lib.utah.edu/c.php?g=887615&p=6669918).
There are also other websites to use to fact-check newspaper sources like Snopes.

I've also learned, upon some thinking, about the importance of evaluating the context of each article: perhaps one article that is written on the day of the event will lack many details and be subject to more emotion than an article written in retrospect weeks afterward.

From my brief search experience, I learned that the oil spill's effects were so deep and significant that even a year following, residents are still concerned about lingering carcinogens from the creek and even the smell of oil. Chevron didn't seem to account for 100% of the effects of the spill. (https://www.ksl.com/article/15909130/residents-still-concerned-1-year-after-red-butte-oil-spillF0).

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Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY - Concerned property owners from neighborhoods near Red Butte Creek met Thursday to discuss lingering health effects and impending legal action as a result of a Chevron oil spill that occurred in June 2010.

Organizers spoke to a small group of residents about taking action, including petitions to local and state government to hold Chevron accountable for cleaning the affected areas and establishing funds to provide for extensive water quality studies and health testing.
Residents voice health concerns
Zach Frankel, a co-founder of the community response committee and

executive director of the Utah River's Council, said there has been an unsatisfactory level of examination performed to determine what state the creek is in.
Benzo (a) pyrene is actually cancerous topically. So, if you touch it, it can give you cancer. The levels of that in my creek were found at 400 times the acceptable levels by the EPA in one site.
-Peter Hayes, SLC resident

"We need to know how much oil remains in the system," Frankel said. "Until we have that answer no one can say what cleanup should be."

Frankel suggested that a fund be created by Chevron to provide financing for the examination of the creek, employment of personnel and to facilitate continued cleanup efforts.

"If we want the creek clean it's going to take a lot of money," Frankel said.

The committee's other founder, Peter Hayes, spoke to the group about testing the Division of Water Quality had performed on his property, which found high amounts of lingering carcinogens. Among other things, the testing showed high levels of benzo(a)pyrene and benza(a)nthracene which, he said, can be absorbed through the skin and cause some forms of cancer.

"They know that material of this nature is in the creek," Hayes said. "Certainly, it's going to be found elsewhere."

Hayes said that with the high water levels Utah is currently experiencing, he is able to smell oil from the creek, a scent that had never been present before last year's spill. He said the carcinogens are particularly troublesome given that the creek runs through a residential neighborhood that houses children and pregnant mothers.

"These two carcinogens are known to cause skin cancers," he said. "These are not good compounds for a developing child. It will effect the next generation, it will give them birth defects."

Hayes also said the spill has disrupted the normal use of his land in that he no longer allows his children to go near the water, a sentiment echoed by many in attendance. When asked for a show of hands, a dozen - roughly half of those in attendance - said they had personally experienced adverse health effects as a result of the spill.
Government responsibility & impending lawsuits
At one point, the conversation turned to frustration at local government.

"Where are the geniuses running the city?" one man asked from the crowd.

Both Hayes and Frankel acknowledged the situation is out of the jurisdiction of the Mayor's Office but both also said they had seen little response from the governor. One man in attendance, Dr. Brian Moench, recently sent a letter signed by more than 20 area medical doctors to Gov. Gary Herbert and Mayor Ralph Becker, alerting them to the potential health effect to exposed residents and petitioning for a $2 million fund for a longitudinal health study.
The idea is to punish Chevron enough that they are incentivized to be hyper-diligent.
-Bret Randall, environmental lawyer

"It is of the utmost importance to the public interest that patients exposed to these spills be adequately cared for in the coming years and we

believe Utah's elected officials have an important role to play in ensuring this occurs," the letter states.

The letter was addressed June 1 and Moench said he had yet to hear any response from the governor.

Herbert spokesperson Ally Isom told KSL: "Governor Herbert is sensitive to the impact to citizens who live along Red Butte Creek and knows there remain questions about long-term effects. Some individuals suffered immediate health effects and their concerns about long-term impacts are certainly understandable. Consequently, the Governor has asked the State's Department of Environmental Quality to fully analyze if it is appropriate and legal to use its authority to assess Chevron additional fines to assist in funding a longitudinal health study."

Moench also spoke to those present at Thursday's meeting about studies that have been done, showing how exposure to oil spills can lead to respiratory problems, pulmonary diseases and DNA damage. He said that given the unique nature of the neighborhoods effected, the data from those studies apply "all the more" to the Red Butte Creek spill.

That unique nature was explained more thoroughly by environmental lawyer Bret Randall, of the firm Durham Jones and Pinegar. He said typically oil spills occur in remote areas and predominantly from underground sources.

"It's very unusual to have crude oil in a single family residential setting," Randall said. "It doesn't take much of a contaminate to be above a level of concern."

He said that property owners had a strong case for claims of property damage, nuisance, punitive damages and personal injury. Randall has already been appointed as representation for a number of property owners and said he plans to file a complaint against Chevron in U.S. District Court this fall.

"The idea is to punish Chevron enough that they are incentivized to be hyper-diligent," he said. "They're going to make you eat the residual contamination."

He used an analogy of a car accident claim, where the offending party makes the minimum repair.

"You're getting the Bondo job, with mismatched paint and a lot of questions," he said.
Response from government leaders, Chevron
Friday morning, Mayor Becker told KSL News he's reluctant to give Chevron a letter grade on its response. "Ultimately, it's the end result of the cleanup and the restoration of that creek," he said, "and we're still a long ways away from that being done."

Part of the reason for that, Becker said, is the delicate balance the cleanup effort is taking: If you going in and sterilize the creek, you kill all the plants and animals you're trying to save.
People can fill in a form or call the phone number (801-313-6700). Those will then be forwarded to Chevron with a tracking system to make sure that Chevron's responding and addressing their concern.
-Jeff Neirmeyer, SLC public utilities

The mayor and other government officials say citizens while citizens can be assured Liberty Lake is clean, work still needs to be done on Red Butte Creek. Jeff Neirmeyer, with Salt Lake's department of public utilities, says that is made obvious by the lack of bugs.

"That's how you tell the health," he said. "Not only are there bugs, but there's a wide variety of bugs."

Neirmeyer said his department needs an assessment plan from Chevron to say what they are going to do to restore the original health of the stream. "What's it going to take to get the bottom of the food chain back in place," he explained.

He said any resident or homeowner concerned about oil should let the Department of Environmental Quality know, and they will be tracking those complaints with Chevron.

"People can fill in a form or call the phone number (801-313-6700)." Neirmeyer said. "Those will then be forwarded to Chevron with a tracking system to make sure that Chevron's responding and addressing their concern; and if they are not addressing it, why they aren't addressing it."

"They have taken some responsibility, where it just isn't as visible as it has been," he added. "We need to continue to take that responsibility because there is much more to do."

The spill occurred on June 11 when a pipeline fracture sent an estimated 20,000 gallons of crude oil into the creek, which flowed down into the pond at Liberty park.

-----
Written with contributions from Benjamin Wood, Paul Nelson and the ksl.com news team.
Related links

Most recent Utah stories

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Residents still concerned 1 year after Red Butte oil spill

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One year later, residents say there's still a lot of damage left by the oil spill into Red Butte Creek and Liberty Lake, and that Chevron isn't trying to fix the problem.

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In my search to see how the Red Butte Creek oil pipeline burst happened, I started with "Red Butte Oil Spill" in the Google search bar. It led me to two sources that I have found reliable in the past. The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News reported on the issue. Deseret News reported on almost every little detail I read about on the Wikipedia website covered earlier, except one detail was missed, what made the oil spill happen. The Salt Lake Tribune just said that Chevron paid around 35 Million dollars in total between both Oil Spills that happened the same year.

One thing that was different from the Wikipedia article in the previous assignment was seeing the severity of the oil spill. Deseret News's pictures showed me how nasty the spill was and showed pictures of people cleaning the covered animals.

Sources:

O’Donoghue, A. J. (2010, June 12). Oil spill in Red Butte Creek threatens waters, wildlife. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2010/6/12/20121242/oil-spill-in-red-butte-creek-threatens-waters-wildlife

Noble, M. (2017, September 23). $30 million Rocky Mountain Power, Chevron lawsuit over Red Butte Creek oil spill settled for confidential amount. The Salt Lake Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/09/23/30-million-rocky-mountain-power-chevron-lawsuit-over-red-butte-creek-oil-spill-settled-for-confidential-amount/#:~:text=The%20first%20spill%2C%20in%20June,federal%20agencies%2C%20court%20documents%20say.

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spills-Diego Sarrazin

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spills-Diego Sarrazin

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The search experience was good. I just wrote Red Butte Spills and several results were shown. The first link took me directly to a source about the June 2010 Red Butte Oil Spill. What I liked about this research was that there was a geological map of the Salt Lake City area, and a graph that evaluated the Red Butte Creek-Streambed Elevation Profile with the miles in the x-axis, and the elevation in the y-axis. The research also has a strategy box, in which there is detailed and summarized information about what happened in that disaster, and how the research took place. For some people, it is better to read the information rather than see images that illustrate demographic connotations of a specific event. In my opinion, a graph like the one provided in the research is essential to consider aspects that explained in words could be misunderstood.

References

https://campusguides.lib.utah.edu/Red_Butte_Creek

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ULibraries Research Guides: Red Butte Creek: Start Here

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Research Guide for the University of Utah’s riparian corridor.

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My process consisted largely on searching local papers for information about the spill in question. I stuck largely to the Salt Lake Tribune because of its relative independence and more neutral political bend. The search was easy enough, although they orient the articles in reverse chronological so I had to sift through all the articles about the 2012 spill first.

The thing I learned the most about is how woefully inadequate all the repercussions were. In the main article I read the fed proposed a fine of $423,600 on Chevron which is a drop in the ocean compared to what Chevron makes from the oil running through Utah land. And I also learn how little things changed in the immediate aftermath with 2 more spills happening in the years following. Including a spill in at Grand Stair Case in 2022. So really I'm seeing how little Utah is making these companies take account for their business.

Sources

https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?itype=CMSID&id=50582928

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2022/07/21/utah-oil-field-spilled-400/

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Environment * Investigation finds Chevron failed to detect Red Butte Creek leak for 10 hours.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Federal regulators want to slap Chevron Pipe Line Co. with a $423,600 fine for the June 11-12 spill that leaked 33,600 gallons of crude oil into Salt Lake City waterways.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced the proposed fine Monday, nearly five months after the Red Butte Creek spill.

The agency also ordered the oil giant to beef up the pipeline's safety with better inspections, leak detection and electric-charge protections.

"The department's top priority is safety," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release, "and we remain committed to ensuring America's pipelines are capable of safely delivering vital energy products to U.S. households and businesses."

But Yalecrest resident Peter Hayes, calling himself a "spill survivor," denounced the federal fine as "ridiculously low." He said the accident required a sum at least 100 times greater to deter the company from repeating the same mistakes.

"The potential for catastrophe and loss of life is huge with that kind of spill," Hayes said, insisting that the best response would be to relocate the pipeline (which is back in operation).

Chevron workers have been cleaning up the sticky oil ever since the accident. They were expected to mobilize crews Monday as the city started draining Liberty Park's pond, which acted as a kind of catch basin to keep the oil in Red Butte Creek from further contaminating the Jordan River downstream.

The company's investigation determined that a lightning strike sparked an electrical arc, blasting a small hole in the 60-year-old pipeline near Red Butte Garden in the foothills east of Salt Lake City.

While the pipeline safety office agreed the puncture caused the leak, it also said Chevron could have done more to prevent the breach.

The federal probe noted the company's use of aerial patrols to monitor the pipeline's path failed to notice possible problems. It also pointed to inadequate corrosion control, a failure to shield the pipeline from stray electrical currents and a poor leak-detection system.

Chevron did not know about the ruptured Red Butte line until it received a call from the Salt Lake City Fire Department. By that time, according to the pipeline safety office, crude oil had been leaking for more than 10 hours.

Chevron has 30 days to challenge the federal fine and prescription for fixing the problems. At this point, it is not clear whether the company will do so.

Spokesman Dan Johnson said Chevron would have no comment until it has an opportunity to examine the notice of violation and the compliance order.

"We haven't been able to see the order," he said. "We haven't been able to review the findings."

The federal office shares with its state counterparts oversight duties for the nation's 2.5 million miles of pipelines transporting crude oil, natural gas, jet fuel, kerosene and other hazardous liquids, as well as the 3,000 companies that operate those lines.

City and state officials generally have supported Chevron's post-spill cleanup efforts.

"We believe Chevron and other oil companies will see the ... [federal] fine as a warning to take appropriate actions to better safeguard our communities from future disasters like June's oil spill in Red Butte Creek," Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said. "We take seriously our role as watchdog of the cleanup process and continue our negotiations with Chevron for additional restitution plans and efforts to restore our community."

The city has hired an environmental-consulting company to advise on Chevron's response. Air-quality consultants and a toxicology expert also have been retained.

So far, the city has incurred $372,275 in spill-related costs (Chevron has repaid about $221,518 of that) and the state has billed the company about $222,800.

The Utah Division of Water Quality has yet to take up the question of fines, said agency director Walt Baker. In July, the state issued a notice of violation against Chevron for three breaches to the Utah Water Quality Act.

The state asked Chevron last month for clarification on several points, Baker said, and the responses will help the state decide on penalties.

"We are not even at that stage yet," he said. We're still fact finding."

Federal findings in Red Butte spill

Aerial patrols of pipeline rights of way failed to address "excessive overgrowth and nearby manmade structures." The notice of violation said: "Heavy vegetation, numerous structures and narrow canyons in this pipeline segment indicate that aerial patrols could not be used to adequately assess the surface conditions on or adjacent to the pipeline right of way."

Proposed penalty: $45,400

Chevron did not have proper grounding devices on underground pipelines to reduce the risk of fault currents, lightning and electrical arcing — even with an electrical transfer station nearby. "This lack of protection resulted in a hole being created in the pipeline due to electrical arcing from the facility fence pole."

Proposed penalty: $316,600

The company did not have adequate leak detection at the time of the June spill. The pipeline safety office noted Chevron had determined in 2007 that better leak detection was needed but never made the improvements.

Proposed penalty: $61,600

A fence post was installed within 3 inches of the pipeline although regulations require at least 12 inches. "The probable cause of the pipeline failure on June 11, 2010, was a high-voltage electrical current, which went from the fence post to the pipeline due to the proximity of the post to the pipeline," inspectors said.

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Feds propose $423,600 fine for Red Butte oil spill

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Federal regulators want to slap Chevron Pipe Line Co. with a $423,600 fine for the June 11-12 s

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spill Summary - Jordan Washburn

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Red Butte Creek Oil Spill Summary - Jordan Washburn

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Hi class,

My research procedure was simply to download all the PDFs and read the links provided. The Wiki page does a decent job of summarizing it, but the minutia is more found in the additional references. More details were found using the Marriott Library too.

In sum, the Red Butte Creek oil spill occurred on June 11th and 12th, 2010 due to a rupture in pipeline owned and controlled by Chevron Corporation. The rupture was caused by an electrical arc from high voltage power lines to a metal post near the pipeline.

This spill resulted in roughly 33,600 gallons of crude oil into the creek itself and into nearby lands, including Liberty Park pond and parts of the Jordan river. Chevron filed a lawsuit against Rocky Mountain Power, alleging that an electrical surge from the power company's equipment had damaged the oil pipeline, causing the spill. It was subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount.

This spill ultimately led to concerns about pipeline safety in general, and specifically among Utah residents, suggesting that state and federal regulators could do more to ensure pipeline safety. My research also included a statement from Rep. Jim Matheson on the event.

- Jordan

References
Matheson statement on Red Butte Creek oil spill: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) News Release (2010). . Federal Information & News Dispatch, LLC.

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My search experience was pretty simple. I tried using all the different sources to find some articles and I was able to find something in all the different resources. They were easy to use, some of them pulled up irrelevant data but as you refine the search that helped to eliminate those extra articles.

What I learned about the oil spill is that an electrical ark made a hole in the pipeline. This led to roughly 33,000 gallons of crude oil to spill into the Red Butte Creek. I learned that Chevron says they weren't notified of the spill until 9 hours after the ark punctured the pipe. The oil affected a lot of wildlife and this wildlife was taken to the Hogle Zoo to be cleaned. I also learned that a couple of parks in Salt Lake were closed because of the spill.  Representatives of the state and Chevron said they were taking aggressive action but the residents were skeptical that it would be taken care of.

Sources:
https://universityofutah-newspapers-com.ezproxy.lib.utah.edu/image/561162886/?terms=Red%20Butte%20Oil%20Spill&match=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Butte_Creek_oil_spill