Detroit – Coast Guard Sector Detroit continues a joint clean-up operation in the O’Brian’s drainage ditch leading to the Rouge River, after a Norfolk and Southern Railroad bridge tender reported a discharge of 200-300 gallons of waste oil Monday afternoon.
The Coast Guard has contained approximately 300 gallons of oily waste in the drainage ditch. Additionally, the Coast Guard has deployed over 900 feet of pollution boom to contain the spill. Coast Guard pollution investigators located an estimated 20 gallons of waste oil near the railroad bridge.
Air monitoring has been conducted, and there is no threat to the general public or drinking water. The Coast Guard has received no reports of injured wildlife.
The Coast Guard is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD) and Marathon Oil, which has a facility nearby assisting with clean-up efforts
The cause of the spill is under investigation.
Coast Guard Sector Detroit directly oversees all Coast Guard missions on South Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Western Lake Erie from Alpena, Mich. to Marblehead, Ohio.
