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HomeNewsLocal newsMinor Oil Spill Reported at Limetree Bay

Minor Oil Spill Reported at Limetree Bay

Limetree Bay Terminal personnel contained a minor oil spill Saturday (Photo by Susan Ellis).

Ten gallons of #6 fuel oil that spilled into the sea at Limetree Bay Terminal last Saturday morning was remediated by floating barriers and absorbents, according to Jamal Nielsen, spokesman for the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources.

DPNR was notified of the incident by the U.S. National Response Center and the U.S. Coast Guard who “handled it,” he said.  According to Nielsen, the spill occurred around 8:30 a.m. when a line was disconnected at the dock, allowing oil to flow into the bay on St. Croix’s south shore. Limetree personnel dispatched booms and applied absorbents to remove the liquid.

Nielsen said the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) was notified and DPRN sent a team to observe the area Tuesday to ensure the clean up was completed.

Lt. Trevor Siperek of the NRC operations office said, in case of a spill or environmental event, it would be up to the V.I. Government to notify the media and public. NRC, operating within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reports spills and other events only to federal and local government agencies and it is up to them to alert the public.

As of Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency had not been notified of the leakage, said EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez. They may not have been advised because the amount was small or because the U.S. Coast Guard took care of it, he said.

“When checking with our sources, no oil spills were reported to the EPA,” Rodriguez said.

A message left for Limetree Bay management was not returned.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. May we assume that a citation was issued to the person who disconnected the pipe by the Coast Guard? There was no reference to any such citation in Susan Ellis’ report. Considering that the Coast Guard has issued citations for spills as little as 4 ounces in the past, one would certainly hope that they would issue one for a 10 gallon spill!

    Please, Source, have your reporters as relevant questions so that your stories don’t continue to leave out significant facts. Actually drill down into the details of the stories. Surely basic curiosity would lead reporters to ask more of the obvious questions than they have in the past. Your articles consistently leave so many obvious questions unanswered.

  2. To Anonymous
    citations are not left with individuals but to the corporation as should be. If remediation and training or disciplinary actions need to take place. It would be up to the Corporation. Also exact cause not given since the Lime Tree elected to try to hide this matter from the public. It May be due to failed equipment and not the operator. They are the ones that should have spoken to the people of the Virgin Islands by way of the media. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT SHOULD HAVE CLEANED UP THE SPILL IN THE FIRST PLACE !!! Which gives the impression they do not have in place a emergency response plan. Something they are mandated by federal law to have. OSHA should have been notified as well.

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