Cleanup crews are responding to a diesel fuel spill at the NRG power plant in Millsboro.
The spill happened early Wednesday morning, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
NRG estimates at least 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from an above ground storage tank.
DNREC spokesperson Nikki Lavoie says they’ve been able to contain the spill while clean-up continues.
“At this time there is no evidence of any waterways or public lands that has been affected," said Lavoie. "But the DNREC emergency response team and our environmental crimes unit will continue to monitor the cleanup around the clock until it’s complete.”
Lavoie says they’ve also gotten the help of Tri-State Bird Rescue.
“Our emergency response team has observed Geese on the property are oiled. And it appears seagulls that had flown into the area may have been affected as well,” said Lavoie.
Tri-State Bird Rescue also helped DNREC during last year’s oil spill, where crews cleaned up over 75 ton of oily debris from Delaware beaches.
Before the power plant was sold to NRG, it experienced a much larger spill in 2000, when over half a million gallons of oil leaked into the Indian River, and the owners of the plant had to pay over $1.2 million in cleanup costs.
Lavoie says once clean-up is complete DNREC will work to determine if any fines or corrective actions need to happen to prevent this in the future.
NRG announced in June it plans to close the coal-fired plant next year, in response to low energy prices.
Roman Battaglia is a corps member withReport for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
