Oil Slick in Sandy Hook Bay

A two mile long by 400 foot wide oil slick is washing up on the bay side of Sandy Hook, according to a report by WNBC 4-NY.

The slick was first witnessed by security personnel at the Earle Naval Weapons Station, according to the the report.  The U.S. Coast Guard and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are investigating.

The source of the oil is unknown at this time.

The “good news,” said reporter Brian Thompson, is that the oil, which he said he could smell when standing near the chapel on the northwest shore of Sandy Hook, is a “light sheen, ” not thick crude oil.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries lab on Sandy Hook has ceased pumping water from the bay into their facility.

Officials at the Marine Standing Center, Brigantine, expressed concern for the health of Great and Harbor Seals that have returned to Sandy Hook for the winter.

NJ.com is reporting that Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said that crews were booming off Horseshoe Cove, an environmentally sensitive area south of the slick, as a precaution against the oil reaching shore there.

NJ101.5 is reporting that Coast Guard officials believe the slick is diesel fuel.

Posted: December 11th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County, New Jersey, Sandy Hook | Tags: Gateway National Recreational Area, Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Monmouth County, New Jersey, NOAA, NOAA Fisheries Lab, Oil slick, Oil Spill Sandy Hook, Oil Sprill, Sandy Hook, Sandy Hook Bay, Sandy Hook Coast Guard, Sandy Hook Oil Spill, Sandy Hook Seals | 1 Comment »

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