Cleanup Work Underway At The Montauk Coast Guard Station

A soil remediation and groundwater project is underway at the Montauk Coast Guard station on Star Island Road in Montauk after diesel fuel leaked from an underground tank, contaminating surface water in Lake Montauk.

With oversight by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Coast Guard station is currently fenced off as excavators and other heavy machines work to prevent fuel and chemicals from seeping into the water. Work on the project started in late October of this year, when a dewatering system became fully operational. The project is expected to last a few months.

According to Erica Ringewald, deputy commissioner of public affairs for the Department of Environmental Conservation, on September 12, 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard notified the DEC of a diesel fuel spill at the Coast Guard station. She said the leak, which is coming from underground piping associated with the Coast Guard’s vessel fueling station, is leaching through a bulkhead and entering Lake Montauk.

Shortly after the discovery of the fuel leak, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed a boom—a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill—to contain the fuel and also recovered fuel that had leaked from pipe trenches and sumps. Under the DEC’s oversight, the Coast Guard investigated the extent of the plume, excavated accessible contaminated soil, and recovered diesel fuel in accessible locations, Ms. Ringewald said.

The Coast Guard entered into an agreement with the DEC to ensure cleanup of the site, Ms. Ringewald said. In accordance with an approved plan, the Coast Guard will dewater at the spill location to recover contaminated groundwater, and it will excavate the contaminated soil. Equipment located at the nearby East Hampton Town Commercial Dock is extracting and treating groundwater from the release area to make it easier to excavate the soil.

The Coast Guard’s contractor has completed the excavation work on two sections and it is anticipated that a total of sections will be excavated before the work is complete.

According to Ms. Ringewald, the Coast Guard site has been showing less fuel seepage into Lake Montauk as the remediation progresses, and a boom is currently in place to recover any diesel fuel that is released. The project is currently slated to be complete this December.