WHITING, Ind. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been on-site in Whiting, Ind. this week responding to the spill of an unknown volume of oil into Lake Michigan from the BP refinery there, according to a press release.
EPA has issued a Notice of Federal Interest, which formally advises BP of the federal government's involvement in the spill and directs the company to conduct a cleanup, noted the release.
Under EPA oversight, BP has deployed more than 2,000 feet of boom to contain the oil, reported the release and used vacuum trucks to remove about 5,200 gallons of an oil/water mixture from the spill location.
BP crews also are combing a nearby company-owned beach for oil globs and conducting air monitoring to ensure the safety of the public, continued the release, while the U.S. Coast Guard has flown over the area and has not observed any visible sheen beyond the boomed area.
By Wednesday, March 26, according to the release, a Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team consisting of representatives of EPA, USCG and BP inspected the shoreline for a period of three hours, saw minimal oiling of the shoreline and recommended a small manual removal crew conduct maintenance along the shoreline.
According to the release, EPA will continue to work with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and BP to take measures to contain and clean up the oil; at this point there is no estimate of cleanup cost or duration.
Read the full release here.
