Advertisement Thousands of gallons of fuel oil at Duke plant spills into Ohio River Cleanup likely to take days, EPA says Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Drinking water intakes were shut as crews worked to contain a fuel spill at a Duke Energy plant along the Ohio River.The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday morning that it was informed shortly after midnight that several thousand gallons of fuel oil had spilled at the Duke Energy W.C. Beckjord Power Station at Ohio River Mile 453, near New Richmond.Watch latest report | Photos from sceneDuke Energy spokeswoman Sally Thelen said about 5,000 gallons were spilled in a 10- to 15-minute period during a fuel transfer around 11 p.m. Monday.“We notified state and local authorities of the incident and have been working with them throughout the overnight hours,” said Chuck Whitlock, Duke Energy president of Midwest Commercial Generation and vice president of gas operations, in a news release. “We have cleanup crews on site that are identifying the appropriate actions that will be needed to remediate.”WLWT News 5's Andrew Setters found crews working near the boat ramp at Woodland Mound Park downstream from the plant.The Coast Guard said three vessels deployed booms and other containment/cleanup materials, in addition to 2,000 feet of oil containment boom.EPA coordinator Steve Renninger said the largest amount of the fuel was several miles downstream from the plant. Crews were at three different sites between the plant and Coney Island, working to collect the reddish-colored fuel from the river.Renninger said most of the oil appears to be along the Ohio side of the river.An official with the Cincinnati Marine Safety Detachment said it will take several days to clean up the spill, a statement Renninger echoed. A vacuum will likely be needed to suck the oil out of the water.As of noon Tuesday, about 400 to 500 gallons had been recovered, Renninger said.Northern Kentucky Water District and Greater Cincinnati Water Works also were notified to take appropriate action, the utility said.Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency said three public water intakes between the Duke facility and the Licking River confluence were shut down. NKWD said its intakes were closed as well.A safety zone was set up on the Ohio River between mile markers 452 and 468 to facilitate spill assessment and response operations, and that section of the river was closed to traffic for about eight hours Tuesday.It has since been reopened.Duke Energy is in the process of closing down the coal-fired generators at the facility, a job it aims to complete by Jan. 1.