NEPA satisfied with Black River oil spill clean-up
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) says it is satisfied with the clean-up and remediation efforts undertaken by J Wray and Nephew following this week’s oil spill into the Black River in St Elizabeth.
On Monday, J Wray and Nephew notified NEPA that a defective oil cooler had leaked approximately 30 gallons of oil into the Black River.
NEPA said in a news release yesterday that officers from its Pollution Monitoring and Assessment Branch as well as its Enforcement Branch visited the site where they observed an oil sheen in a section of the river. J Wray and Nephew was served with a warning notice for the unlawful release of oil into a body of water containing fish, contrary to Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act, and warned for prosecution.
NEPA said the notice instructed J Wray and Nephew to remove the oil from the river with absorbent material and conduct remediation.
The agency said it revisited the location yesterday to assess the results of the clean-up and is satisfied with the action taken. The agency also reported that the negative impact of the spill has been mitigated.
NEPA said it will continue to monitor the situation.