NEW YORK – The Coast Guard and partner agencies temporarily suspended a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) for a dielectric fluid spill that occurred at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn, New York, May 7.
The enforcement of the RNA is temporarily being suspended, however a safety zone remains in effect.
The need for the RNA will be reevaluated in order to determine if it needs to be enforced in the future.
As part of that response, the Coast Guard established a safety zone in the East River following the incident, and an RNA was established May 17.
The RNA is on the Manhattan side (half) of the river in the area between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge.
The safety zone in this area remains in effect extending 100 feet from Farragut Substation on the Brooklyn side of the East river east of the Brooklyn Bridge in support of oil cleanup operations. Vessels may not enter, remain in or transit through the safety zone during the enforcement period unless authorized by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port or designated Coast Guard personnel.
The latest restrictions on vessel movements are to ensure that a variety of remedial actions in response to the spill can be safely carried out by personnel from the Coast Guard, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Con Edison and its clean-up contractors. These operations include professional diving operations, site surveys, boom maintenance and other remedial actions.
