Sunday, March 15, 2015

MISSISSIPPI RIVER OIL SPILL CAUSED BY THE WANDA ISABELLE TOW BOAT OWNED BY CELEBRATION BELLE








MARCH 15, 2015

MOLINE, ILLINOIS






One day after an oil spill was discovered on the Mississippi River in Moline, Illinois, clean-up was underway.




After investigating where the oil was coming from, the Rock Island Arsenal and the Moline Fire Department initially indicated that a tugboat connected to the Philadelphia Belle was the source of an oil spill. 




On Saturday morning, March 14, 2015, the Rock Island Arsenal Fire Department said the origin of the spill was from the Celebration Belle.




Coast Guard officials estimated that somewhere between 10 and 55 gallons of an oil-water mix spilled from the Celebration Belle on Friday afternoon.




According to a spokesperson from the Rock Island Arsenal, mitigation company, EnviroMart, was working to clean the spill.  During the clean-up process, 380 feet of booms were deployed to help pull oil from the river.




The oil was first spotted by Arsenal personnel Friday afternoon at the Arsenal’s hydroelectric dam, said a spokesperson from the Arsenal.  Officials say the incident will be considered closed once clean-up is complete.





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A towboat operator inadvertently pumped about 50 gallons of an oil and water mix into the Mississippi River Friday, but officials said the spill has been cleaned up.

Moline Fire Department Capt. Brian Vyncke said the U.S. Coast Guard determined that oil somehow got mixed in water that was being pumped out of a towboat (the Wanda Isabelle) owned by the Celebration Belle excursion boat Friday afternoon.

The Quad-City Times reports (http://bit.ly/1HUiN4q ) a cleanup company hired by the towboat's owner used absorbent booms to clean up the spill Saturday morning.

The towboat was attached to a small barge at the time of the spill. The towboat was near the Philadelphia Belle and just north of the Celebration Belle.

Authorities determined that neither the towboat nor the two excursion boats were leaking oil.

"The Coast Guard checked it out and made sure no more of the mixture was being pumped into the river from the towboat," Vyncke said.

The spill was reported around 3 p.m. Friday after someone downstream from the towboat reported an oily sheen on the water.

Initial water tests in the area didn't show any oil contamination, authorities said.   Dilution is the solution to pollution.