The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an oil spill at Port Manatee that has caused over 19,000 gallons of polluted water.
The cause of the incident and the amount of oil spilled is still unknown, according to Coast Guard spokesperson, Petty Officer Nicole Groll.
"What we've been doing for the cleanup is a lot of vacuuming and a lot of absorbing," she said. "(The pollution cleanup personnel) are even raking the water to pull up debris."
Groll said nearly 6.5 tons of oil-ridden debris have been removed so far — and as of Wednesday morning, 90-95% of the surface oil is gone.
#Breaking @USCG Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders received an National Response Center report a of crude oil spill at @portmanatee. Responders are containing the spill w/ about 1400 ft of boom. The source is unknown & cause is under investigation. Report spills: 800-424-8802 pic.twitter.com/HVQpipd2P0
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 1, 2023
About 1,400 feet of floating barriers, or boom, are soaking up the material and helping to contain the spill.
Samples of the polluted oil-water mixture are being tested to pinpoint the origin of the spill. Any responsible party could receive civil penalties.
Groll said the area has no wildlife habitats and so far they have received no reports of wildlife or fish being killed.
Justin Tramble disagrees.
"There is without a doubt marine life in the impacted areas. There is without a doubt, connectivity between the areas that the oil spill happened and the Bay," Tramble, the executive director of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper said.
"I can't even imagine that argument, that there's no marine life in Port Manatee."
The organization made an incident report to the Coast Guard Friday afternoon alerting them to the spill.
But Tramble's biggest takeaway has been "the startling lack of information." He said that makes it difficult to gauge how big of an impact this will have on the Tampa Bay watershed.
"There's just not a lot of information. And for something like this to happen in or at the facility, you would think that there would be a better handle on these types of things," he said.
Tramble said it is important to keep the public informed.
"We're yet to be able to really understand the environmental impacts," he said. "We're yet to understand any potential health risks that the public should be made aware of."
Coast Guard officials continue to monitor the spill and believe it is contained to the port. But said if any boaters or recreators in the area see oil outside of the containment area to report it to the National Response Center.
Copyright 2023 WUSF 89.7.
