Oil leak into Mill River in East Rockaway prompts cleanup efforts

The cleanup of about 1,000 gallons of cooling oil that leaked from a power transmission line into Mill River in East Rockaway continued Wednesday as a PSEG Long Island representative announced that the leak has been contained.

On Monday, the utility shut off an underground electric cable due to “a leak of nontoxic dielectric fluid,” PSEG Long Island spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said in a statement.

“We have been actively working in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to remediate the leaked nontoxic fluid, and work is underway to isolate and repair the leak,” Flagler said in the statement.

Flagler said in an email Wednesday afternoon that the leak had been "contained."

"We have located the source ... and are excavating to begin repairs on the cable," she said.

Asked how long cleanup would take, Flagler said in an email later Wednesday: "It will take time and we will continue until it is all cleared up. They made good progress yesterday and today and will continue 24/7."

The cable runs beneath the Mill River Bridge along Atlantic Avenue and provides electricity to western Nassau County, she said. Customers did not lose power when the cable was shut off, she said.

A DEC spokesperson said Wednesday that about 5,000 gallons of oily water had been collected and that pressure in the cable had been lowered to minimize leakage. 

The DEC is closely monitoring the impact to wildlife, the agency spokesperson said.

Eyes on wildlife

James Dambrosio scowled Wednesday as he looked out at water off the Edward A. Talfor Memorial Boat Basin, which had an oily-rainbow sheen in the late afternoon. Dambrosio, 42, an electrician from East Rockaway, said he takes his son and daughter to the boat basin to fish.

“I was here last weekend and there were fish jumping all over the place,” Dambrosio said. “I’ve been here 15, 20 minutes and I haven’t seen a single fish.”

Dambrosio said he worried about the spill’s impact on fish and birds that come to the river.

“This area is teeming with fish all the time; I know they’re saying it's not harmful to humans, but I can’t see it being good to the wildlife," he said. He said it will be some time before he feels safe fishing there again.

“The smell is bad,” said Marfa Gruner, 62, a retired cashier from Lynbrook who sat outside the Chill Soft Serve ice cream shop Wednesday afternoon as the chemical smell of oil hung over the waterfront. “It’s a good place, a beautiful place, you feel sorry for what’s happening,” Gruner said.

Boats from Calverton-based Miller Environmental Group Inc. traversed the waters, going over yellow "booms" that float and stop the spread of the oil on the water's surface.

"In the water, booms and soaking pads are in place to contain and absorb the oil," Flagler said in an email. "The pads are replaced regularly to remove it as quickly as possible."

Roadwork and traffic

On Atlantic Avenue, near the Long Island Rail Road station, heavy road equipment was boring into the pavement as a vacuum truck on an adjacent access road sucked up liquid from the river. The roadwork closed off a lane of eastbound traffic, which was backed up as far as the eye could see. 

"That is where the suspected location is," Flagler said in an email. "Crews are working to expose the cable and begin repairs."

Personnel from PSEG crowded around the area, next to the Marina Pointe East Rockaway condominium complex, as enormous hoses connected the water to large, roaring trucks on the road. 

"The truck is to help us vacuum any debris that is coming out of the excavation," Flagler said in an email.

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said in an interview Wednesday that his office received a call about a sheen on the water from an oil spill about 5:45 p.m. Monday.

“When our hazmat team arrived, they observed it and they observed that it was coming from [a] PSEG transmission line,” Uttaro said.

He said the oil is similar to vegetable oil and is used to cool transmission lines. “It was estimated that up to 1,000 gallons had come from that transmission line,” Uttaro said.

He said PSEG was already on the scene when the fire marshal’s team arrived.

“PSEG happened to be in the area looking for the leak,” Uttaro said. “They hired a private contractor, which they're required to do, and they have their own spill response people.”

Uttaro said the state DEC took over as lead agency overseeing the cleanup.