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Warehouse Fire Caused Limited Oil Spill In Jones Falls

ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Gov. Larry Hogan and his administration are leading a coordinated response to the limited oil spill on Jones Falls in Baltimore City, between Pier 6 and President Street at the Inner Harbor, caused by a warehouse fire overnight on East Monument Street.

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The Maryland Department of the Environment is directly engaging in response efforts, and the spill is now contained.

"The oil spill has been contained with deployed sorbent sweep material and existing boom equipment that is used to channel debris into one of the City's trash wheels," said MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles. "The state's rapid response to this incident, working in coordination with city and federal partners, quickly contained the problem and prevented further issues."

MDE's Emergency Response team is on the scene with three response trucks, one boom trailer, one response boat, and three responders.

Gov. Hogan also had an emergency conference call with senior administration officials to activate these state resources.

They also said they are providing "full and immediate support to the U.S. Coast Guard and Miller Environmental, a federal government response partner.

Hogan administration officials are also communicating with the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore and organizers of the 4th Annual Baltimore Flotilla to advise kayakers and others to stay away from the area while responders work.

The Coast Guard is also on scene conducting containment and clean up efforts after they were notified early Friday morning.

"The flow of the water is bringing the oil to us, so that's in our benefit," said Chief Petty Officer Sean Devine, an on-site pollution responder. "It will eventually all end up here — how long that takes depends on how much oil has been released, that we don't know about, and how much could potentially leave the source."

The Coast Guard is overseeing Miller Environmental Group's continued clean up. They are also working with MDE to investigate the source of the spill.

"This is a perfect example of why we train with to work with our partners and why we have those relationships," said Cmdr. Mathew Fine, deputy commander of the sector. "When something suddenly happens ,we can depend on each other, work seamlessly together and know our lanes on a cleanup like this."

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