BETHEL ISLAND — Emergency and cleanup crews were dispatched to the scene of a sunken boat that was leaking fuel and oil into the San Joaquin Delta on Monday.
“A submerged tug boat in the Empire Tract area, near Herman and Helen’s, is currently leaking diesel fuel and oil into the Delta Waterway,” the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office reported in a social media post.
Herman and Helen’s is a long-shuttered marina in Stockton on West Eight Mile Road.
Crews were reportedly preparing Monday afternoon to deploy containment booms around the fuel spill. Some 300-400 feet of the floating barriers were expected to used to contain the spill, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Edward Wargo told Bay City News.
The boating unit and ground units from the sheriff’s office were on the scene to help coordinate efforts to deal with the oil and fuel leaks.
“We have contacted outside agencies to assist, including Environmental Health, Office of Emergency Services, Fish & Wildlife, Woodbridge Fire Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard Pollution Response Team,” the Sheriff’s office stated Monday.
The location as described by the sheriff’s office is about eight miles northeast of Bethel Island in eastern Contra Costa County.
The extent or the cause of the spill has not been reported, but Wargo told Bay City News that the tugboat has a maximum capacity of 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 600 gallons of oil.
The sinking boat came to the attention of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office about 8 a.m. Monday.
The Coast Guard is reportedly the lead agency responding to the incident.
Source: www.mercurynews.com