Thursday, June 18, 2015

3,000 gallons of lubrication oil spilled in the discharge canal at CP Crane Generating Station in Baltimore, MD


Baltimore pollution


BALTIMORE, MD

 The Coast Guard is overseeing a response to an oil spill Thursday at CP Crane Generating Station in Baltimore.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore received a report from the National Response Center of approximately 3,000 gallons of lubrication oil in the discharge canal at CP Crane Generating Station in Baltimore.

“At around 6:30 a.m. today, approximately 3,000 gallons of lubricating oil was unintentionally released into the Crane plant’s discharge canal,” said Todd Martin, spokesperson for Talen Energy. “The canal is a man-made, lined structure with equipment in place to capture material in the event of a release.”

Personnel from Maryland Department of the Environment, Clean Venture, Inc. and Miller Environmental Group are on scene conducting clean up operations, and have recovered approximately 2,000 gallons of oil.

Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research personnel are also on scene and assessing any impact to local wildlife.

“We arrived at about noon and were given two moderately oiled ducklings that were bright and alert,” said Michelle Neef, oil programs coordinator with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research. “We were able to conduct a survey where we went about half a mile to the boom. We noticed only one other mallard that had been affected, which we’ll try to aid again tomorrow.”

Approximately 2,500 feet of boom is deployed to prevent oil from leaking out of the man-made canal and into the Chesapeake Bay. Areas of visible sheen were reported outside of boom, but were deemed unrecoverable by response personnel. 

“Protecting the environment is a fundamental aspect of our operations,” said John Strauch, vice president of plant operations for Talen Energy. “When the malfunction was identified, our technicians took immediate steps to stop the source of the leak and contain the lubricating oil. Their actions, combined with the assistance of the Coast Guard, MDE, our environmental consultants and local wildlife specialists, preserved and protected the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.”

“Talen Energy and CP Crane Generating Station have highlighted the value of having an effective response plan,” said Cmdr. Michael Keane, chief of response at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore. “Their pre-staged equipment and quick response actions have ensured minimal environmental impact.” 

Of course the Coast Guard is a bunch of amateurs when comes to oil response.  The private contractors are always able to "rose-color" everything and  to hoodwink the guardsmen.