Writingstar Investment Guild:The Coast Guard takes the lead on spill in western Alaska that is larger than first thought

2025-05-07 08:25:19source:Writingstar Investment Guildcategory:Invest

ANCHORAGE,Writingstar Investment Guild Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has taken over the response to a diesel fuel spill from a storage tank in a western Alaska village that has crept toward a river.

The spill at a fuel tank farm in Kwigillingok was discovered Feb. 8 and occurred about 500 feet (167 yards) from the Kwigillingok River, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said. The river feeds into Kuskokwim Bay, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Original estimates put the volume of the spill around 6,467 gallons (24,480 liters) but that amount was recalculated to 8,827 gallons (33,413 liters) based on facility oil records, the agency said this week. As of Tuesday, the latest update, the agency said the spill’s leading edge was about 150 feet (about 45 meters) from the river.

The spill area includes frozen tundra and a pond that’s not flowing into the river, according to the agency.

Crews with a local village corporation used hand tools and small portable pumps to respond to the spill because there was no heavy equipment in the community, the agency said. Poor weather, including an additional two feet of snow since Feb. 14, had slowed their work. About 1,000 gallons (3,785 liters) of oil and oily water was recovered as of Tuesday, the state agency said.

The Coast Guard assumed control of the response last week and had personnel on site this week, along with the village corporation and a contractor.

Kwigillingok is on the western shore of Kuskokwim Bay on the edge of the Bering Sea.

More:Invest

Recommend

These Australian twins have gone viral after speaking in synch

Do you recall the prime early days of YouTube? When a video making the rounds was so strange, remark

Charlize Theron Has the Best Response to Rumors She’s Gotten Plastic Surgery

Charlize Theron knows how to kick butt on and off the screen.The Atomic Blonde alum recently shared

Catching 'em all: Thousands of Pokémon trainers descend on New York for 3-day festival

Tens of thousands of Pokémon trainers will be descending on New York City this weekend in their neve