UNIFIED COMMAND
RI Dept of Environment Management
Penn Maritime
The Unified Command will issue a bulletin at 11 A.M. each day, and press releases for any breaking news regarding the oil spill that occurred on July 5 in Narragansett Bay, south of Prudence Island. A Command Center has been established at Pier 2, Coddington Cove, Middletown.
Key phone numbers for obtaining oil spill information and submitting reports are as follows:
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For General Information |
Joint Information Center, Newport |
847-7573 |
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To Report Sightings of Oil |
Command Center, Newport |
847-7573 |
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To Report Wildlife Impacts |
DEM Marine Base |
295-8818 |
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To File Damage Claims [business losses, property damage] |
Penn Maritime's Claim Office |
800-528-5760 ext. 6444 |
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Back-ups to General Information Number |
24 - hour DEM Hotline |
222-3070 |
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To Volunteer |
Save the Bay |
272-3540 |
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Emergency Fisheries Closure Area Map as of 7/12/00 at 12:30 PM (hit your browser's refresh button) |
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Archive of Prior Bulletins (hit your browser's refresh button) |
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Status of Spill and Clean-up: More than 80 personnel hired by Penn Maritime continue to use absorbent material along the shoreline. Experimental techniques to attempt to refloat oil trapped in the rocky beach are being explored. One such technique using a rubber-tired front-end loader to agitate the rocks in a small area proved successful yesterday. Wider scale application of this technique will commence today. Recovery operations will continue until the clean up is completed. Approximately 8,500 gallons of decanted oil have been recovered so far. 348 cubic yards of oil soaked absorbents have been containerized.
Effects of Spill on Fishing, Boating and Swimming: Visual inspections of lobster pots in the closed area by officials of DEM and the RI Health Department showed no sign of oil having reached the bottom. Furthermore the laboratory analysis found no oil at all in any of the samples analyzed. Only 180 acres of Narragansett Bay offshore of the oiled shoreline will remain closed to fishing and shellfishing. This closure will remain in effect until further notice. (see linked chart, hit refresh to ensure up-to-date map). DEM Environmental Police will assist any lobsterman with pots in the remaining closed area to remove their gear. These lobstermen should call the Command Post at 847-7603 to arrange an escort. All other areas of the bay that are traditionally open to fishing and shellfishing remain open.
The Coast Guard has established a safety zone, which corresponds, exactly, with the remaining closure area.
Swimmers are advised that they might encounter tar balls in portions of lower Narragansett Bay in low concentrations; these should be avoided.
Status of Assessment Activities: The natural resource damage assessment process will continue through the next several weeks.
DEM wildlife biologists will respond to reports of birds in obvious distress.
