Spill Suspends Fuel Transfers at Buckeye Terminal, Port Reading

All fuel transfers have been suspended at Buckeye Terminal following a diesel fuel spill that occurred in the Arthur Kill Waterway near Port Reading, New Jersey, on September 6.

The spill occurred during a product transfer at the terminal at approximately 7:15 p.m., the US Coast Guard informed.

A  pollution response team from Coast Guard Sector New York has been dispatched to the scene to help mitigate the situation. An oil spill removal organization has been contracted to clean up the spill, and they have placed containment boom in the water.

A barge was involved in the spill and is inside the containment boom. The condition of the barge is being evaluated by the federal coordinator and marine inspectors from Sector New York.

“Due to high winds and rain at the time of the incident, facility personnel were unable to calculate the exact amount of fuel spilled into the waterway,” the coast guard statement reads.

The temporary suspension of fuel transfers remains in force until investigators can determine the cause of the spill and the facility can safely conduct fueling operations.

Representatives from Middlesex County Hazmat, New Jersey Department of Environment Protection, and the Environmental Protection Agency are also responding to the incident, the coast guard said.