Nearly a year after a 97,000 gasoline pipeline spill polluted areas of southwestern Colorado, the U.S. EPA joined the cleanup effort and took control of operations.
The December 2024 spill happened on the Southern Ute Reservation near Durango and became the largest such spill on record in Colorado. It even threatened the Animas River.
The spill occurred on an Enterprise Products pipeline and initially was reported to involve 23,000 gallons of gasoline, but it was later revised to 97,000 gallons. The spill polluted five private wells and last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would become involved.
- Location: Southern Ute Reservation, near Durango, Colorado.
- Cause: A pipeline failure on December 5, 2024.
- Amount: Originally estimated at 23,000 gallons, but a later estimate is nearly 97,000 gallons, making it the largest refined gasoline pipeline spill in the state’s history.
- Contaminants: The spill released gasoline and other contaminants, including benzene, into the soil.
- Affected areas: The spill has impacted a portion of the Southern Ute Reservation and private property.
- Threat to water: The plume of gasoline is moving south and is threatening the Animas River, which is used for agriculture and recreation.
- Cleanup efforts: Cleanup is ongoing, with contractors excavating soil and using other methods to remove the gasoline.
- Contamination: At least five private residential wells have tested above acceptable limits for gasoline chemicals.
- Frustration: The Southern Ute Tribe has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the response and cleanup from both the company and the state.
- Monitoring: The state is expanding monitoring and installing additional treatment systems in the area.
- Federal involvement: Federal authorities are now watchdogging the cleanup progress.
The Southern Ute Drum reported on November 4, 2025, the Tribe expressed significant concerns with hazardous waste management, treatment, and storage related to the Enterprise remediation site to the EPA. In response to Tribal concerns, the EPA will ensure that the cleanup is performed in accordance with federal requirements and will also monitor Enterprise’s hazardous waste generator requirements, better known as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) compliance.
The EPA has issued a notice of non-compliance to Enterprise regarding violations and safety concerns at the site, including hazardous waste characterization, storage and disposal. With hazardous waste stored near Reservation residents and the Animas River, continued delay puts people and the environment at unnecessary risk. The EPA, the Tribe, and CDPHE will conduct a joint inspection on December 2, 2025, to confirm if these issues have been rectified.
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