Caroline Tucker
WMAL.com
ARLINGTON, VA (WMAL) — Multiple agencies are assessing and responding to cleanup efforts of a fuel spill at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says the worst case is 7,500 to 9,000 gallons of fuel which may have spilled into the Potomac River.
The U.S. Coast Guard, D.C. Department of Energy and Environmental, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and D.C. Harbor Patrol are among the agencies which responded.
“That’s a significant spill, it’s a large amount of fuel and it is something that we will have to look at very closely,” said Bill Hayden, a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson.
MWAA says a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter saw fuel contained to the area where it leaked.
No fuel has been seen in the main channel of the river.
Hayden says his team will be taking a look at the environmental impact.
“We are looking for if there are any fishkills or any impact to aquatic life or any impact of wetlands of shoreline from the fuel,” said Hayden.
WSSC says the water supply has not be affected and drinking water is safe. And MWAA says it consulted with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It said the environmental impact is expected to be limited.
MWAA believes the spill came from a previous spill that happened early Thursday, which had been contained and cleaned.
Miller Environmental is the cleanup team hired by Allied Aviation Fueling, which serves as the fuel contractor at the airport. It’s unclear just how long the cleanup efforts may take.
No airport operations were affected and the airport remains open.
MWAA says it will release more information as it becomes available.
(Photo: CNN)
