Delaware River to Be Repaired After 2004 Oil Spill

Delaware River to Be Repaired After 2004 Oil Spill

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, January 7, 2009 (ENS)

On November 26, 2004, the oil tanker Athos I struck a submerged anchor while preparing to dock in Paulsboro, New Jersey. The anchor punctured the vessel's single hull, spilling nearly 263,400 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River and six of its tributaries.

The spill damaged more than 280 miles of shoreline, affecting habitats and aquatic organisms, killing thousands of birds and other wildlife, as well as hindering recreational use of the river, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On Tuesday, the two federal agencies and the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware opened a public comment period on a restoration plan to repair and improve shoreline and habitats of the Delaware River damaged by the spill.

The plan recommends nine preferred restoration projects, expecting to total over $20 million, intended to address environmental injuries in the three states.

The projects include restoring 300 acres of oyster, marsh, shoreline, wet meadow, grassland, and stream habitat; three recreation projects; and four projects to remove stream obstructions restricting the migration of fish that hatch and spawn in streams but live most of their lives at sea.

This comment period is the last step before restoration projects are selected and funding is sought from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for implementation. This fund is administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. It was established and is primarily maintained by a five cent per barrel tax from the oil industry on oil produced in or imported to the United States.

The Athos had traveled from Venezuela to the Citgo Asphalt Refinery in Paulsboro, carrying13 million gallons of Bachaquero Venezuelan crude oil. The single-bottom, double-sided vessel was registered under the flag of Cyprus, owned by Frescati Shipping Company, Ltd., and operated by Tsakos Shipping & Trading, S.A., who was designated as the responsible party.

The vessel struck several submerged objects including the anchor as it attempted to dock. At the time of the release, the tide was incoming. Within the first few hours, thick oil covered the Delaware River and moved upriver with the flood tide to the vicinity of the Walt Whitman Bridge, six miles to the north. Over the following weeks and months, oil from the ruptured tanker spread downriver, threatening natural resources over 115 river miles from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to south of the Smyrna River in Delaware.

The incident forced the Coast Guard to close the river to commercial traffic for over a week, and submerged oil resulted in contamination of water intakes and the closure of the Salem Nuclear Power Plant.

Under the Oil Pollution Act, NOAA and its state and federal partners are trustees that evaluate the loss of natural resources from an oil spill and restore the shoreline and habitat to conditions that existed before the spill.

NOAA says the trustees "developed a restoration plan for this large, complex spill after an exhaustive incident response and natural resource damage assessment."

The proposed environmental restoration projects are:

* Freshwater tidal wetlands restoration on seven acres at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Pennsylvania to compensate for tributary losses. This project would restore tidal exchange to the site through tidal channels, shallow pools, and scrub/shrub wetland habitat

* Creation of 78 acres of oyster reefs in New Jersey and Delaware to compensate for injuries to aquatic resources, diving birds, and gulls

* Removal of three dams and a remnant bridge pier from Darby Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania to open up an additional 2.6 miles of habitat to anadromous fish, and restore about 10 acres of riparian habitat along the creek edges

* Restoration of 62.5 acres of degraded wetland and creation of 35 acres of wet meadow and 100 acres of grassland at state-owned property on Mad Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area in New Jersey to compensate for non-tributary shoreline losses and part of the bird loss

* Shoreline restoration at Lardner's Point in Pennsylvania through the demolition of existing structures, import of fill material, grading of a 0.9 acre site to restore tidal inundation, and creation of intertidal marsh and wet meadow habitat

* Blackbird Reserve Wildlife Area habitat restoration, pond and pasture enhancement in Delaware. This project would excavate two shallow wetland ponds in former agricultural areas, convert 16 acres of agricultural lands to cool-season grass pasture, and establish 24 acres of food plots by modifying existing agricultural practices to provide resting and foraging areas for migratory geese.

To address the estimated 41,709 river trips that were affected by the spill, with an estimated loss of $1.3 million, the restoration plan includes improving the Stow Creek boat ramp in New Jersey, installation of a rock jetty at Augustine Boat Ramp in Delaware, and enhancing the recreational trail on Little Tinicum Island in Pennsylvania. Click here to view the draft damage assessment and restoration plan for Athos I. The deadline for public comments is February 20, 2009.

Questions or comments on the plan can go by email to: NOS.AthosComments@noaa.gov ; by fax to: 301-713-1229; or by mailed letter to: NOAA Office of General Counsel for Natural Resources, GCNR, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 15103, Silver Spring, MD 20910.