Charles River Oil Spill, February 10, 2010

Not many of us know that on February 10, 2010 roughly 1,000+ gallons of #2 diesel fuel leaked from a faulty valve at an MWRA facility along Memorial Drive, an unstaffed pump station in Cambridge near Magazine Street Beach, below the BU Bridge.  It barely made the news, and where it did, it was nothing more than a blurb in many of the papers. At approximately 3:45 am, work crews had noticed oil spilled in the driveway of the facility and contacted Hazmat. Once the Hazmat crews responded to the scene for cleanup, it was discovered that the fuel had overflowed and leaked onto the roof of the facility and into a drainpipe leading into the Charles River. Total leakage was nearly 2,500 gallons. Members of the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency arrived to monitor the clean-up and survey the damage. The ice in the river helped to contain the spill and prevent it from spreading too far; however, oil had leaked along the water line where ice had melted.  Crews were working around the clock, breaking the ice about 4′ from the shore,  installing booms to contain the spill, and removing the oil within the dammed area, as well as removing all contaminated soil ashore.  The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority released a statement that they were able to recover 600 gallons of the oil spilled and that they would continue to monitor the area.

Tags: BU Bridge, Cambridge, charles river, Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Magazine Street Beach, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Memorial Drive, MWRA, oil spill