PALMETTO, Fla. (WFLA) — An investigation is underway at Port Manatee after thousands of gallons of crude oil spilled into the water.
The U.S Coast Guard received a National Response Center report Friday morning about the situation and spent the last few days cleaning up the spill.
Nicole Groll, a U.S Coast Guard spokesperson says over 19,000 gallons of contaminated water had been recovered by Tuesday afternoon. Groll says crews contained the spill using 1,400 feet of boom.
“Now what they are doing is sending the oil out to be type-tested, so we can find out where it came from and that’ll help in the investigation,” she said.
Pollution responders also had to step in, cleaning off ship hulls impacted by the oil. Groll says making sure oil doesn’t spread is always a priority.
“We want to make sure that it doesn’t get into the main part of the bay into the recreational area where there’s more wildlife and even more greater impact to the environment,” Groll added.
