By Jeff Lipton
Between 300 and 500 gallons of diesel fuel escaped from a commercial clamming vessel, "Miss Edith," when it partially submerged while docked near Hog Island Channel at about 4 a.m. on May 10, authorities said. The cause of the sinking is under investigation, they said. The boat was carrying about 2,000 gallons of fuel, they added.
Although much of the fuel was contained at the site of the spill, it was carried by the wind and tide to Masone Beach, about a mile and a half away. There it seeped into the sand, forcing Village of Island Park crews to continuously rake the sand to bring the oil to the surface in the hope that it would evaporate.
"A lot of diesel oil washed up on the beach," said Island Park Mayor Jim Ruzicka. "We are stirring up the sand, hoping the oil will come to the surface and it will dissipate. So far we have seen some positive results."
The Nassau County Department of Health inspected the beach about three weeks ago and determined that it was not yet suitable for use. Health officials are expected to be called down to the beach for a re-inspection some time this week, when village officials hope it will be given a clean bill of health.
Facing a June 27 deadline, when lifeguards are scheduled to report and the beach is officially opened for swimming, crews have been raking the sand every day except Sunday, said Ruzicka. "We're still holding out hope for the opening of the beach," he added. "We don't know if we're going to make it."
The mayor called Masone Beach "our main attraction, our claim to fame, so to speak."
Before the summer season starts, the beach is used by the elderly, who sit in beach chairs in the sand, as well as for school field trips and students' picnics. Kindergartners from the Hegarty School were scheduled to use the beach for a fun day this week, but school officials were told they could not because of the oil spill.
"I don't know what the school decided to do," said Island Park Schools Superintendent Dr. Edward Price. "There are other parks, so they might go to another park."
"In situations like this, the contamination has to be addressed," said Nassau County Health Department spokeswoman Cynthia Brown. "You don't want little kids playing in the sand over there and they end up putting it on their face and in their mouth. You can't open the beach until it's all cleaned up. We won't allow lifeguards to be there."
A public meeting has been scheduled for June 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 127 Long Beach Road, to update residents on the status of the beach cleanup. Among those expected to attend are officials from the village, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Coast Guard, the Town of Hempstead Bay Constable and the Health Department, all of which responded to the May 10 incident. "We tried to get as much of the oil out of the water as possible right away," said DEC spokesman Bill Fonda. "And now we're monitoring it as best we could.
"It was very high tide when the incident took place," Fonda added, explaining that the oil spread over a wider area.
Lt. Bill Grossman of the Coast Guard said the spill could have been much worse if not for the quick actions by officials at Sprague Oil Terminal, which is near the docked boat. They provided boom containers around the fishing boat to keep the oil from spreading more rapidly into the water. "The booms corralled any petroleum product floating in the water," said Grossman. "At Sprague, there are some very good neighbors. It assisted us greatly."
Grossman said that part of the 78-foot clamming boat actually sank to the bottom, even though the other half was sticking out of the water, which was only about 20 feet deep at the dock. The boat was not occupied when it sank, and no one was reported injured, he said. According to Grossman, the incident is still under investigation. The remaining 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel was off-loaded, said DEC officials, who oversaw the effort to clean up the fuel, which was spread along a nearly three-mile stretch of the channel during high tide.
The vessel was lifted out of the water on May 22, and the Miller Environmental group was called in to monitor the beach on a daily basis, removing three to five cubic yards of contaminated beach grass and other material that absorbed the fuel, DEC officials said. There was expected to be no impact on fish or wildlife, officials said.
The DEC returned to the area on May 29 to observe the cleanup efforts, and a final inspection was completed on June 6.
Ron Ross, who has a waterfront home on Ocean Harbor Drive, near the site of the spill, said he was lucky the incident did not affect him. But, Ross said, "It's really terrible" that the oil forced Masone Beach to temporarily close.
Ruzicka said that the DEC has held the owner of "Miss Edith," who has not been named, responsible for much of the cleanup costs. He said his village has undertaken the cleanup of the quarter-mile-long Mason Beach and will probably send the bill to the boat owner's insurance company.
An area of wetlands adjacent to Norfolk Road was also affected by the spill, as was a smaller adjacent beach operated by the village, Ruzicka said. "We continue to rake, and when the tide goes out, we rake again," he said. "We're hoping the problem goes away and that we can open the beach on time."
In the meantime, Ruzicka said, the gates to the beach will remain locked until the health department gives the OK to lift the barrier.
In recent years, Masone Beach has been temporarily closed during excessive rainfall in the summer, when runoff carried contaminants into the water.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
