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Image courtesy
of Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
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Tanker
Crash Threatens Chesapeake Area
15,000 barrels of crude oil lost to storm
By ELIS
January
25, 2001
During last
night’s winter storm, a tugboat crashed into an oil tanker
off the coast of Piney Point, Maryland. The continuing severe
weather has impeded cleanup efforts, and it is currently estimated
that 15,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil have leaked into the
Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Potomac River.
Go to Article.
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Image courtesy of Office of Response and Restoration, National
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
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Full
Response in Effect
After receiving
notification from the National Response
System, the Coast Guard arrived at the area of the spill.
The already complex response efforts were compounded by the
severe weather and unpredictable wave motion. The ship's Vessel
Response Plan (VRP) outlines procedures for a coordinated
response effort.
The Baltimore
Area Contingency Plan and the Inland Area Contingency Plan require
that the response to this spill is coordinated by the Federal
On-Scene Coordinator (OSC), in this case the Coast Guard OSC,
Captain Roger Peoples. More
on Legal Requirements.
The command team includes representatives from the USCG,
EPA, state representatives, community groups and contractors.
More on the Stakeholders. |
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Sensitive
Chesapeake Bay Resources Threatened
The coastline
and waters surrounding the town of Piney Point are home to
numerous coastal flora and fauna, including new reef habitat
areas, sensitive marshlands, nursery-ground seagrass beds,
and seabird breeding grounds. View the ELIS
Map Creator or the Digital
Earth Map Viewer for interactive tools to manage the response
or Ecosystem Background
for more
information on the potential impacts to the Bay environment
from petroleum.
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©
2001 Environmental Legal Information Systems (ELIS). All rights
reserved. The information contained in this site is for demonstration
and educational purposes, and while every effort has been made to
simulate a potential real response to an oil spill, the storyline
is not based on actual events. Kenneth
J. Markowitz, 2nd International Symposium on Digital Earth,
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada (June 25, 2001).
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ASTER
image of Piney Point Maryland and surrounding area.
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SeaWIFs
Image of Chesapeake Bay Region
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