A diesel fuel spill was reported Friday morning in the waters of San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico, in the area of the United States Coast Guard base, in the federal agency’s first public account of the environmental emergency posted Saturday. The Coast Guard did not specify the amount of fuel that reached the water.
Most of the spilled diesel is being recovered from a secondary containment wall,
It said its specialized personnel from the Incident Management Division of Sector San Juan have been cleaning the body of water since Friday. According to the agency, pollution response personnel traced the spill’s origin to a fuel tank tied to a construction project underway at the facilities; the tank was secured and the spill contained.
At 7:00 AM. Friday, Customs and Border Protection security personnel detected a strong fuel odor and observed fuel on the water along the coastal area of the facilities. "Most of the spilled diesel is being recovered from a secondary containment wall," said Lieutenant Commander Katherine Webb, chief of the Incident Management Division of Sector San Juan.
She added that the Coast Guard is working directly with the responsible party and coordinating closely with local and partner agencies to ensure cleanup proceeds quickly and safely, protecting public health and the environment. Federal and state governments were notified, and the incident remains under investigation. Planned recovery operations include site assessments and long-term strategies to recover spilled product and prevent future incidents.