VIRGINIA BEACH — Heavy rainfall has slowed down the excavation work at the London Bridge Road ditch across from Naval Air Station Oceana.
As clean-up and recovery efforts continue following the fuel spill, workers at the excavation site were slowed due to water build up from the rain, Navy officials said.
“Too much water creates an ineffective process for scooping the contaminated soil,” said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Brett Major, operations section chief for the Unified Command. “However, natural flushing as a result of rainfall helps direct any sheen or emulsified product towards containment areas where we can easily collect it.”
The removal of contaminated vegetation and debris from the ditch is a part of the Wolfsnare Creek Response Unified Command efforts to remove and recover as much of the JP-5 jet fuel that leaked into local waterways on May 11.
Out of the 94,000 gallons of jet fuel that spilled on the military base, Navy officials announced in a Friday press conference that 25,000 gallons entered into the London Bridge Road ditch across the street and traveled into bodies of water like Wolfsnare Creek.
Officials say clean-up efforts will conclude once no recoverable fuel is left.
About 452,000 gallons of water-fuel mixture has been recovered and 613 tons of contaminated soil has been removed.
Soil and vegetation removed from the ditch and NAS Oceana is being transported to Clearfield MMG waste management facility for treatment, while fluids recovered from bodies of water is sent to U.S. Navy Craney Island facility.
Absorbent materials that have been used to recover oil are getting transported to Chesapeake Waste Solutions for disposal.
Navy officials have also announced that they have begun funding food and incidental expenses for residents who voluntarily relocated from neighborhoods affected by fuel fumes.
Forty-eight families were reported to have moved when Navy officials offered temporary lodging at local hotels.
According to the Navy, the funds will be provided retroactively to the date the residents voluntarily relocated.
