 But they were aware that sediment was collecting and that leak technology wouldn't work if the lines were not periodically cleaned.Federal and state authorities concluded that BP did not spend the money necessary to maintain the Prudhoe pipes.. Reports of the spill's volume varied widely at the time of the spill.On March 25, 2008, the Unified Command for spill response announced that the volume of crude oil spilled was , making it more than three times larger than any spill ever reported on the North Slope.