10/28/03 - REMOVAL ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ISSUED. THE HOWARD WHITE UNIT #1, ALSO KNOWN AS HIGHLAND DRILLING CRUDE OIL FIRE & SPILL, WAS DESIGNATED TO BE AN AIR DRILLED WELL TO TEST THE SONNY BROOK FORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL OIL PRODUCTION IN NORTHEASTERN TENNESSEE. THE WELL WAS CONSTRUCTED AS A 12-1/4 INCH HOLE DRILLED TO A DEPTH OF 901 FEET AND A 9-5/8 INCH SURFACE CASING WAS RUN AND CEMENTED. A 6-1/4 INCH HOLE WAS DRILLED TO A DEPTH OF 2,430 FEET AND ENCOUNTED FRACTURED POROSITY. AN OIL FLOW OCCURRED. THE DRILL STRING WAS PULLED APPROX 300 FEET TO A DEPTH OF 2,390 FEET AND AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO LOAD THE HOLE WITH WATER. THE OIL FLOW WAS INCREASED AND PRESSUR INCREASED AND THE RIG CREW MADE EFFORTS TO DIVERT THE FLOW TO STORAGE TANKS. AS THE FLOW GREW IN INTENSITY, A SPILL OCCURRED AND OIL BEING POOLING AROUND THE WELL AND RIG AND SPILLING OUT OF HTE CONTAINMENT AREA BECOMING UNCONTAINABLE. HOURS LATER, AN IGNITION SOURCE IGNITED THE OIL AND A FIRE OCCURRED. OIL FLOWED DOWN GRADIENT IN TWO DIRECTIONS/AREAS: CLEAR CREEK AND WHITE CREEK. SOME OF THE OIL ON THE CREEKS WAS BURNING INCLUDING FOREST AREAS IN THE PATH OF THE SPILLING OIL. THE AREA IS NAMED THE OBED WILD AND SCENIC RIVER, UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPT. OF INTERIOR. CLEAR CREEK IS ALSO FEDERALLY DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITAT, PURSUANT TO THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, FOR THE FEDERALLY THREATENED SPOTFIN CHUB. APPROX TWO MILES OF CLEAR CREEK WAS AFFECTED. THESE CREEKS FLOW INTO THE OBED RIVER. THE INITIA