Oil Spill Cleanup Update Oil Washed Ashore Sunday at Battery Park

DNREC continues to oversee cleanup of oil from earlier spill that washed ashore Sunday at Battery Park in New Castle

NEW CASTLE (March 16, 2015) – DNREC’s Emergency Response Team continues to oversee the cleanup today of oil from a cargo-ship spill last week at the Port of Wilmington that washed ashore Sunday at Battery Park in New Castle. Cleanup operations by environmental contractors under DNREC and US Coast Guard supervision in New Castle extended to 1,500 feet of shoreline. The spill also affected smaller stretches of the Delaware River both north and south of Battery Park.

The oil came from a spill that occurred March 9 at the Port of Wilmington, when a cargo carrier, the Wild Cosmos, released oil from its deck into the Christina River. DNREC’s Emergency Response Team also is onsite at the port in conjunction with the Coast Guard in overseeing removal of oil there from pilings and piers.

DNREC ERT reported this morning that cleanup operations at Battery Park and other affected areas will continue throughout the day, with environmental workers raking oil from the shoreline and removing oil-soaked debris that has come ashore.