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XavierC LLC ® 1220 Pennell Drive, Glendora, CA 91740
Reserve pits containing oil or oil-based products (i.e. oil-based drilling fluids) can entrap
and kill migratory birds and other wildlife. Birds, including hawks, owls, waterfowl, and
songbirds, are attracted to reserve pits by mistaking them for bodies of water. Reserve
pits also attract other wildlife such as insects, bats, small mammals, amphibians, and big
game. Wildlife can fall into oil-covered reserve pits while attempting to drink along the
pits’ steep sideslopes. The steep, synthetically-lined pit walls make it almost impossible
for entrapped wildlife to escape. Insects entrapped in the oil can also attract songbirds,
bats, amphibians, and small mammals. The struggling birds or small mammals in turn
attract hawks and owls to the oil-covered pit. The sticky nature of oil entraps birds in the
reserve pits and they die from exposure and exhaustion. Birds that do manage to escape
die from starvation, exposure or the toxic effects of oil ingested during preening. Birds
ingesting sublethal doses of oil can experience impaired reproduction. Cold stress can kill
the animal if oil damages the insulation provided by feathers or fur. Animals not killed in
the reserve pits can suffer ill effects later from contact with the oil and chemicals in the
pits.
If they absorb or ingest oil in less than acutely lethal amounts they may suffer a
variety of systemic effects and may become more susceptible to disease and predation.
During the breeding season, birds can transfer oil from their feet and feathers to their
eggs. In some cases, a few drops of oil on an egg shell can kill the embryo
Service law enforcement agents and environmental contaminants specialists have
documented bird mortality in reserve pits in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. The presence of small amounts of hydrocarbons, such as diesel, and
condensate, can create sheens on the reserve pit fluid. The presence of visible sheens on reserve pit fluids is just as deadly to birds that come into contact with them. A
light sheen will coat the bird’s feathers with a thin film of oil. Although light oiling on a
bird may not immediately immobilize the bird, it will compromise the feathers’ ability to
insulate the bird. Furthermore, the affected bird will ingest the oil when it preens its
feathers and suffer acute or chronic effects.
Well stimulation chemicals, such as corrosion inhibitors and surfactants, disposed into
reserve pits, pose additional risk to migratory birds. Surfactants reduce the surface
tension of water; thus, allowing water to penetrate through feathers and onto skin. This
compromises the insulation properties of the feathers and subjects the bird to
hypothermia. Furthermore, loss of water repellency in feathers due to
reductions in surface tension will cause the bird to become water logged.
Migratory Birds Threatened
The Ugly
Ineffective separation of oil and water results in wastewater covered by a layer of oil. Oil can weigh birds down and cause them to drown. Oil destroys the ability of the birds' feathers to insulate, resulting in death from heat or cold stress. Two million migratory birds are estimated to die each year in oil and mining wastewater pits in the western United States.
