Coast Guard suspends oil spill investigation at SeaPort Manatee. Here’s what they found
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended their investigation of the oil spill at SeaPort Manatee without finding the source of the leak, the agency announced Friday afternoon.
The investigation sought to find the responsible party for an oil spill that contaminated more than 19,000 gallons of water at Port Manatee near the mouth of Tampa Bay.
A forensic analysis of oil samples from approximately 30 sources was completed, including from the spill itself, in addition to a dive assessment of the port seawalls to look for any irregularities, but “despite an exhaustive effort, a definitive source for the spilled material was not identified,” the Coast Guard said in a press release.
“The result on our end is we are just suspending the investigation, essentially, pending any new information,” Santiago Gomez, a spokesperson for District 7 of the U.S. Coast Guard, told the Bradenton Herald Friday afternoon.
SeaPort Manatee said in its own press release Friday that none of the samples collected at the port matched the oil found in the inner harbor.
“On behalf of the Manatee County Port Authority, I wish to express my appreciation to the U.S. Coast Guard for its tireless efforts in cleaning up and investigating the recent event at the port,” James Satcher, chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority, said in the release.
“While it is disappointing that the investigation could not pinpoint the origin of the material, we are reassured in our proactive response efforts and pleased to learn that it was not identified as coming from a Seaport Manatee-related source,” he said.
Oil spill source still unknown
The responsible party, if found, could be facing thousands of dollars in fines in the form of a notice of violation or civil penalty.
In a recent statement posted on social media, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, said he hopes to hold the spill culprit accountable.
“I sincerely appreciate the great work the Coast Guard has done to clean up the spill in a timely manner, but area residents deserve to know exactly what happened and who is responsible,” Buchanan said on Sept. 21.
The spill was initially reported on Sept. 1 via the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Response Center.
Crews used about 1,400 feet of boom to contain the bulk of the spill in the port, with water being vacuumed up into a large container for disposal and contaminated ship hulls being cleaned, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
By Sept. 12, the Coast Guard says the spill was 99% cleaned, with all remaining oil residue cleaned by Sept. 21.
The Coast Guard’s environmental response specialists used around $1.1 million from The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to remove approximately 20,500 gallons of oil and water mixture, as well as 6.4 tons of oily debris that was removed from the impacted area.
An endangered species analysis of the area was also conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which found that no fish or wildlife had been affected, according to a release.
“I am pleased that we were able to quickly isolate the spilled material within the port to mitigate impacts to the environment while enabling a focused response and rapid clean-up,” said Capt. Michael Kahle, Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg commander, in a release.
“Our investigators worked tirelessly in search of the spill source and the responsible party,” he said.
If anyone has any information on the spill, the Coast Guard suggests reporting it to the Sector St. Petersburg command center at 866-881-1392.
If anyone sees oil or hazardous materials that may impact the water, they are asked to immediately report it to the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.
A major oil spill hadn’t happened in Tampa Bay since 1993, when a collision between three ships at the mouth of the bay spilled over 300,000 gallons of oil, according to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
