Colonial Pipeline Update

Over the past year, Colonial Pipeline Company has made considerable progress in recovering free product from the subsurface and remains accountable and committed to staying onsite for as long as it takes to safely remediate the area.  The safety of human health and the environment has been and will continue to be the foundation of our recovery and remediation efforts.

Recovery Efforts

As part of our product recovery and remediation process, Colonial has deployed a network of recovery and monitoring wells that aid in product recovery efforts and provide data guiding our operations. Our product recovery efforts are ongoing, and as of July 20, 2021, Colonial has installed 274 wells to support environmental remediation, including 69 recovery wells and 109 monitoring wells at and around the release location.

As of July 27, 2021, Colonial has recovered approximately 29,173 barrels of product and we continue to utilize a series of monitoring wells at different depths located around the perimeter of the site to assess groundwater quality.  Information collected from those wells indicates that product remaining is contained to the general vicinity of the release location, and there is no evidence of free product in the perimeter wells.

To supplement our recovery and remediation efforts, Colonial will be drilling additional monitoring wells into deep bedrock at the site this week.  This work, which is being performed by Colonial under the guidance of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, will provide valuable additional information about the site, which will help further refine ongoing remediation plans. We anticipate that this work will take approximately three weeks to complete.

While this work is in progress, there may be additional workers and equipment at the site, as well as a difference in the type of sounds coming from the site. To minimize impacts on our neighbors, we will limit operational hours for these activities to between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Environmental Update

In addition to product recovery efforts, Colonial continues to sample water supply wells on a weekly basis within the 1,500-foot monitoring radius established by NCDEQ, along with biannual testing of wells located between 1,500 and 2,000 feet from the release point. These tests are performed by a third party, submitted under chain of custody to NCDEQ certified labs, and shared with the homeowner and state regulators.

No petroleum constituents have been detected in water supply well samples. Colonial has also conducted regular environmental monitoring, such as surface water sampling and noise monitoring, and will continue to do so as long as we are onsite.

Colonial is immensely grateful for the efforts of all our local, state, and federal regulators who have been involved in the response to-date. We continue to work closely with the appropriate regulators and always aim to communicate openly with key stakeholders to provide updates on progress as we continue the response effort.

Our Commitment

We understand and regret any inconvenience this event has caused, and we are committed to being here for as long as it takes to safely remediate the area and also remain committed to earning back the trust of the community that has been our neighbors for more than 50 years.

For a video of our response overview, click here.

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