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This week, as part of the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act passed by the House of Representatives, a new commitment was made to try to determine the true extent of the decades-old Newtown Creek oil spill. The language in the bill gives the the Environmental Protection Agency $5 million and a year to create a three-dimensional model of the spill, collect data on the oil trapped underground and to what extent it has mixed with groundwater, and better chart the flow of the underground oil plume.
The massive oil spill, which spread into Newtown Creek and under the ground of the nearby Greenpoint neighborhood, occurred in 1950 on the site of what is now ExxonMobil property and was discovered in 1978. It was originally estimated at 17 million gallons (significantly larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska), however recent estimates put the number somewhere between 17 and 30 million gallons, spread over 55 to 70 acres. The oil and oil products that were discharged have contaminated the creek and seeped into the earth and groundwater under homes and businesses in the area.
The real scope of the contamination remains unknown. A 2006 EPA study of the area proved inconclusive–let’s hope that this attempt will give those affected (and the oil companies charged with the continuing clean-up) a better idea of what they’re up against.
