Oil Spill Cleanup Continues on Calcasieu Ship Channel
The Coast Guard opened the Intracoastal Waterway at Calcasieu River to all commercial traffic. The ICW remains closed to recreational traffic from the Calcasieu Lock to mile marker 242. A temporary Vessel Traffic Service, staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders, is coordinating commercial vessel traffic transiting the ICW. Approximately 20 miles of the Calcasieu Ship Channel remain closed due to the spread of oil from a spill at the CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex Tuesday. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone in this area and is enforcing it with patrol boats. The safety zone stretches from light 116, north of the Interstate 210 bridge, to light 56, south of Calcasieu "Big" Lake. Prien Lake and Moss Lake also remain closed.
Unified Command Established to Oversee Oil Spill
An oil spill is contained June 21, near a crude oil tanker at the Clifton Ridge terminal along the Calcasieu River. The cause of the spill is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and CITGO Petroleum Corporation. The CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office have established a Unified Command to manage the clean up and recovery of the oil spill in the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles. Recovery efforts began Tuesday night after receiving reports of oil in the Calcasieu channel near CITGO's Clifton Ridge Terminal. The recovery operations represent an expansion of activity that began in response to heavy rainfall and partial flooding, which overwhelmed the CITGO's waste water storage tank area and dikes.
