Barge VB53; Richmond, VA

Richmond, VA | 2005-May-09

Initial Notification: MSO Hampton Roads reported that a barge was damaged and had released some several hundred gallons of diesel fuel into the James River near Richmond, VA. Tanks #1 and #2 Port were damaged and each tank had a potential of 5,000 bbls of diesel fuel. The release was reported to be less than 25-30 bbls. Representatives of the RP, VA DEQ, NOAA DAC, EPA, MSO Hampton Roads, F&WS, and Entrix joined in a survey of the one site where the oil had been collected located just east of the site of the grounding. Area impacted in this pond area off of the East Bank of the James River, known locally as the Gravel Pit, total less than an acre. Diesel product was observed along this sheltered shore that once the floating product had been removed, oil soaked woody debris had been removed, that some sorbent material would be maintained on site for several days or weeks until it could be assured that oil sheen from saturated sediments would not escape into the James River.