Fish Market Barge Sinking, Potomac River, Washington, DC

BACKGROUND: On Tuesday, 05 JUN, at approx 12:45pm, Coast Guard Sector Baltimore was notified of a barge splitting in half in the fish market area of Southwest DC (Washington Channel) with oil in the water. At that time, Sector Baltimore filed an NRC report and dispatched a pollution response team. DC Fire Dept was already o/s and successfully contained the spill with approx 600ft of harbor boom. The "barge" is actually a permanently moored floating structure/storefront used to sell fish. The rear section of the structure collapsed, sending two fuel storage tanks into the water, each containing approx 150-200 gals of diesel fuel. Moderate media interest occurred with local DC radio and the Associated Press contacting the Coast Guard for more information. CG D5 PADET issued a press release Tuesday afternoon. No wildlife was reported to be affected. HEPACO was hired by the responsible party (a private citizen) to clean up the spill. The spill response continued through Tuesday night, though hampered by darkness and a large amount of oiled debris (wood planks, etc.) in the water from the structure collapse. DC Dept of the Environment was notified and sent inspectors to the scene. Clean-up efforts continued through the day on Wednesday; however, late morning on Wednesday, HEPACO expressed concerns about the r/p's ability to pay. At that point, the USCG assumed federal responsibility for the clean-up efforts and accessed the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for $50,000. HEPACO was hired was issued an ATP of $30,000. June 6, 2012 UPDATE: Spill response continued through the night last night and continues this morning. Both fuel tanks have been removed along with 95% of the oiled debris and recoverable product. USCG anticipates reaching an endpoint sometime later today or tomorrow. USCG Sector Baltimore's Mobile Command Post trailer is on scene and will remain on scene with Sector Baltimore personnel until the response is complete. There have been no reports of injury to wildlife and no claims of oiled vessels made to the Coast Guard at this time.