Oil cleanup under way after barge spills approximately 117,000 gallons

Published 2:59 pm Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The Coast Guard says four miles of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi are closed while crews clean up crude oil that spilled from a damaged barge.

It says the oil was kept within the Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam near Tishomingo, and within boom set around the dam.

The Coast Guard says an accident Sunday spilled about 117,000 gallons of oil. A news release says E3 Environmental is cleaning it up. Five vacuum trucks, seven skimmers and more than 75 people are working round the clock on the cleanup.

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The Coast Guard says the Savage Inland Marine barge was carrying about 321,000 gallons of oil, but nearly two-thirds was safely removed.

The Coast Guard is investigating the accident.