USCG lab identifies responsible party in NY/NJ tar ball pollution

Unified command crews work on tar ball clean up near Long Branch, N.J. [USCG photograph]

A spill on the evening of November 22 during an oil transfer at an oil facility in Bayonne, N.J., has been identified as the source of an incident that subsequently saw tar balls discovered on the New Jersey coast from Sea Bright to Asbury Park, additional pollution discovered on the shoreline north of Coney Island Creek in the Gravesend Bay area of Brooklyn, as well as tar balls at Fort Wadsworth beach on Staten Island.

The Coast Guard and Vane Brothers Company responded and monitored cleanup efforts for the spill and, on Friday, the unified command set up in response to the incident received oil sample lab results from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory, Friday, linking together oil spill cleanup efforts in both New York and New Jersey.

As a result, Vane Brothers Company, represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party and has joined the unified command, whose other members are the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Office of Emergency Management, and Monmouth County Department of Health.

The connection between the oil spill and the tar balls at the New Jersey response sites, as well as in Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn, have been linked by samples taken from each site and verified through the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory. Results for samples of tar balls found at Fort Wadsworth are still pending.

As of Friday, cleanup crews finished efforts at the New York sites and will initiate a monitoring phase to ensure there is no more pollution in the water or on beaches in New York. Clean-up efforts continue in the vicinity of Long Branch and Monmouth Beach in New Jersey.

Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been incorporated into the Unified Command to assume response efforts and ensure that any potential impacts to the environment and public are mitigated.

“I can’t overstate the value of the collaboration across the unified command members in driving towards a resolution of our response actions,” said Capt. Zeita Merchant, the Captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey and Coast Guard Sector New York commander. “Drawing on the expertise of all our partners in New York and New Jersey is critical in ensuring that the interests of the public and the safety of the environment are met. There remains work to be done, and the responsible party is taking leadership in any potential issues related to the spill moving forward.”