River Remains Closed; Clean-Up Continues

The lower section of the Neches River from just north of DuPont plant to the Veteran’s Bridge remains closed as the oil spill clean up continues.

"The safety of our responders, and the restoration and opening of the Neches River as quickly as possible are our main goals," said Capt. Sharon Richey, Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Officer Port Arthur and Captain of the Port. "We have more than 175 responders now on scene working to clean the river. So far more than 13,800 gallons of oil water mixture have been recovered."

The recovered oil is being taken to a holding tank at the local UNOCAL facility, where it will be recycled. The oiled snare boom and adsorbent pads are being stored in roll-off boxes to be disposed of later.

Initial clean up costs are estimated to be $700,000. The costs will rise as clean up continues. The funding for the spill is initially provided by the Federal Polution Fund. These funds will be replaced by the party(s) ultimately responsible for the spill.

The unified command continues to oversee the clean up and to ensure that the oiled section of the Neches River is returned to pre-spill state. The unified command, consisting of the Texas General Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team, Port Neches police and fire departments.