New Haven, Conn. – The Coast Guard is assisting with the cleanup and mitigation of potentially hazardous substances on the Mill River near the English Station.
On Sept. 15, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) contacted Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and requested assistance in assessing and responding to the potential release of hazardous materials into the Mill River.
The pollution site is 510 Grand Avenue. The address is the site of a former power plant, known as English Station, and the property is contaminated with PCBs, but the extent and intensity of the contamination is still under investigation and not fully known. The initial assessment by the Coast Guard, CT DEEP, and EPA on Sept. 15 identified spilled oil near the storm drain and oil staining on the ground near the storm drain and along the northern edge of the power plant building leading back to an oil room inside it.
A subsequent assessment inside the building by EPA Contractors on Sept. 16 identified other pollution threats including: spilled oil on the ground inside the building, a damaged and partially filled above ground oil storage tank (estimated 500-600 gallon capacity), and several metal 55-gallon drums (50-100) whose contents and conditions are not well known. Many of these drums show signs of rusting and corrosion. Some of the drums have markings, stenciling, or labels which indicate that they hold oil. Multiple oil sheens have been observed on the Mill River near English Station in recent history and the known uncontrolled oil on the property has been identified by the On Scene Coordinator as a substantial threat to the Mill River.
The Coast Guard supervised the booming of the polluted area on the Mill River Sept. 25 and will remain on scene to oversee the Mill River clean up.
