A leak in the fuel return line of a diesel generator was the cause of more than 100 gallons of fuel leaking into Poorhouse Cove in South Bristol Wednesday, Nov. 5.
“The Fosters had been without power since Sunday because of the storm, and they had their diesel generator on since then,” South Bristol Fire Chief Mark Carrothers said.
“The generator’s return line leaked,” Carrothers said. “The leak saturated the floor of the house, and the saturation got into their drain, which empties into the cove. We’re estimating over 100 gallons of fuel is lost.”
Fire departments from South Bristol, Bristol, Newcastle, and Boothbay were on the scene.
“Bristol, Newcastle, and Boothbay are the Lincoln County hazmat strike team. They had extra booms to contain the fuel,” Carrothers said.
The teams use the sponge-like booms to contain the fuel in the water.
“We are in the process of soaking up the fuel that isn’t in the cove. That fuel is already contained,” Carrothers said.
Maine Department of Environmental spokesman Karl Wilkins said the next steps will be to flush out the floor drain where the fuel leaked into the cove, power-wash any hard surfaces where the oil may have spilled, and ventilate the area in the house where the leak occurred.
“We are also continuing to clean the fuel in the cove itself with the absorbent booms,” Wilkins said.
DEP also notified the Maine Marine Patrol, Wilkins said, and Maine Marine Patrol Sgt. Daniel White conducted a shoreline survey of Poorhouse Cove Thursday, Nov. 6.
“The survey showed no sheen on the water anywhere other than what was contained by the booms,” White said.
According to White, the results of the survey were sent to a state biologist. The biologist will then recommend whether Poorhouse Cove should be shut down for harvesting shellfish.
“There has been no official recommendation yet, though it doesn’t look like it will be shut down. The cove will continue to be monitored, but it’s in the process of getting cleaned up,” White said.
