Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Coast Guard: Harbor oil cleanup done

CHARLESTON -- The Coast Guard announced Friday that it had completed cleaning up the tar balls and oil spots that were deposited on 60 miles of area shoreline after oil slicks were spotted in the harbor on Oct. 20.

Gooey, black deposits of oil and tar were removed from the beaches at Sullivan's Island, Fort Sumter, Folly Beach and Kiawah, Seabrook and Edisto islands, according to the Coast Guard.

More than 50 people from Coast Guard Sector Charleston, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and Natural Resources, and contractors from Moran Environmental Services participated in the 10-day cleanup.

Crewmembers removed more than 2,600 bags filled with oily debris and sand for a total effort of more than 550 man-hours at a cost of approximately $330,000.

The cost is paid by the Coast Guard National Polltion Funds Center 's oil spill liability trust fund.

The source of the spilled oil petroleum product remains under investigation.

The Coast Guard will provide an update on the investigation when a responsible party is identified.

The responsible party may be responsible for the costs of the cleanup, plus additional civil penalties or fines.

"We had great cooperation from our state and local agency partners, and from the public as we quickly responded to reports of pollution," said Capt. Michael McAllister, commander, Coast Guard Sector Charleston.

"We showed how working together to protect our environmentally sensitive shorelines minimized the impact of this spill."