Baltimore harbor fuel spill cleanup on track after initial estimate ballooned to 5,000 gallons, mayor says

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4 hours ago

The diesel sheen remains visible on the water in Harbor East, where 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled on June 4, as estimates surged past initial reports of the amount of diesel in the water.
You can still see the diesel sheen on the water in Harbor East where 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled last week as estimates surged past initial reports of the amount of diesel in the water.
CBS News Baltimore
Bigger than initial estimates
At first, authorities thought 200 gallons of fuel had spilled. That quickly grew to 2,000 gallons, then to 5,000 gallons.
The latest eye-catching estimate was contained in a single sentence in the third paragraph of a joint news release from Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Friday night.
"As part of their ongoing cooperation, Johns Hopkins reported an update that approximately 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel are believed to have leaked," the joint statement read. "There continue to be no impacts to drinking water or air quality in the area."
Mayor Scott's response
At City Hall on Monday, WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Mayor Brandon Scott about ongoing remediation efforts and whether he was confident about the 5,000-gallon estimate.
"What we've heard from Hopkins is they are very confident that that is the amount," Scott said. "We obviously as a city cannot be the folks; we're not going to take the responsibility for saying how much because we didn't spill it."
The ballooning amount of fuel that made its way into the Harbor came as a shock to some in Harbor East.
"How could they not have known that in the first place if the truck had a certain amount of capacity?" asked Maryland resident Eric Smith. "We know that numbers are going to change, and they will be adjusted, but at least give us—best case scenario, it was this, the worst case scenario, it will be this."
WJZ saw on Monday more protective barriers in the water and crews monitoring the area.
The response is scaled down as the spill transitions from an emergency to remediation, the city said.
Streets have all reopened, and water taxi service is back to normal.
How did the fuel spill happen?
The spill began on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus on Fayette Street near Broadway when a contractor overfilled emergency generators.
That diesel fuel washed through the storm drains to the Baltimore Harbor.
Johns Hopkins has promised to pay to clean it up.
"As I spoke to [Baltimore Fire] Chief Wallace last night, he felt very confident we were in the place where we needed to be, being able to open up some of the roads and things like that," Mayor Scott said. "The team has done a great job. We'll just continue to monitor as we move forward and make the adjustments necessary. But as of right now, the remediation of this has gone as smoothly as possible," Mayor Scott said.
Ryan Workman, from Taylor Oil Company of Brooklyn Park, told WJZ that backup generators can have 10,000-gallon tanks.
Environmental impact
Dr. Scott Knoche, with Morgan State University, studies the economic impact on the environment from fuel spills. He also directs the Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory.
"It's nice to have a responsible party already identified and one that is committing to the process," Knoche said. "Those longer-term impacts can take months or years, or in some cases longer than that, to fully understand."
WJZ cameras spotted many turtles in the canal along Lancaster Street, which has been cleared of pools of fuel.
WJZ cameras spotted many turtles in the canal along Lancaster Street, which has been cleared of pools of fuel.
CBS News Baltimore
That diesel fuel was easy to spot because of its red dye.
"The greater the magnitude, the more of the fuel in the water—all else equal—you're going to have greater chances of injuries, but that being said, the response appears to have been fairly quick," Knoche said. "I'm encouraged by the rapid response. Again, no one wants to see anything like this happen, and I'm sure there will be lessons learned to prevent the next one from occurring, and that's important, too."
The Waterfront Partnership still expects the Harbor Splash public swimming event for June 21 to continue.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is now leading the remediation efforts at the scene.